WEBVTT - What's at the Bottom of the Fosse Dionne Spring?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of I Heart Radio. Hey Brainstuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, it's possible that there's a giant, beadly

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<v Speaker 1>serpent hanging out at the bottom of the Fustillon spring

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<v Speaker 1>in the Burgundy region of France. It's also possible that

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<v Speaker 1>there's no serpent. It's a legend concocted by ancient inhabitants

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<v Speaker 1>of the village of Tonair, where the spring is located,

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<v Speaker 1>but nobody's ever been able to get to the bottom

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<v Speaker 1>of it. Because nobody's ever been able to get to

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<v Speaker 1>the bottom of it. Fustillon is a karst spring, karst

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<v Speaker 1>being in a regular limestone region with sinkholes underground streams

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<v Speaker 1>and caverns. The spring burbles up an average of eighty

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<v Speaker 1>two gallons that's three hundred and eleven liters of water

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<v Speaker 1>every second, which is an unusually high discharge rate for

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<v Speaker 1>this type of spring. About the velocity of the water

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<v Speaker 1>varies from season to season. What you would be able

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<v Speaker 1>to see of the spring if you visited the Fustillon,

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<v Speaker 1>which translates to divine pit by the way, is a

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<v Speaker 1>circular stone pool that was built in the eighteenth century,

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<v Speaker 1>filled with jewel poned water, turquoise, amber and cerulean colored

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<v Speaker 1>by the minerals, and the limestone caves from which the

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<v Speaker 1>waters emerge. The opening of one of those caves is

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<v Speaker 1>visible from the edge of the basin. Because humans have

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<v Speaker 1>been using the Fastillon since before anybody was keeping track

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<v Speaker 1>for drinking, washing, cooking, and bathing, there are stories and

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<v Speaker 1>legends about the spring, some of which we know and

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<v Speaker 1>some we don't. In the Middle Ages, it was thought

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<v Speaker 1>that there was serpent that cruised around deep in the

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<v Speaker 1>heart of the Fastillon, and some even thought it was

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<v Speaker 1>the portal to another world. The spring features prominently in

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<v Speaker 1>accounts of the miracles performed by the seventh century monk

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<v Speaker 1>Saint Jean de Ryon, and I hope I said that correctly,

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<v Speaker 1>I do not know French. He arrived in the area

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<v Speaker 1>in the year sixty five CE to clean up the spring,

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<v Speaker 1>which was at the time an unusable swamp. The monk

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<v Speaker 1>reportedly dug a basilisk, a monster that's half rooster and

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<v Speaker 1>half lizard, out of the spring and killed it, allowing

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<v Speaker 1>people to regain the use of the Falstillon for drinking, washing,

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<v Speaker 1>et cetera. These days, the Fustillon looks very civilized from

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<v Speaker 1>the outside, and its stone basin surrounded by a communal

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<v Speaker 1>washing place that was built in the eighteenth century to

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<v Speaker 1>protect washer women from the elements as they did their

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<v Speaker 1>laundry in the springs water. But below the surface the

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<v Speaker 1>spring is just as wild as when Saint Jean arrived

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<v Speaker 1>to tame it. The great mystery of the Falstillon spring

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<v Speaker 1>is where the water actually comes from. There's certainly a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of water coursing out of it, and like other

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<v Speaker 1>Karst springs, the water emerges from a network of subterranean

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<v Speaker 1>limestone caves. It's thought the Fostillon is fed by both

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<v Speaker 1>rainwater from the hills around Tornair and at least one

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<v Speaker 1>underground river. However, no diver has ever been able to

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<v Speaker 1>find its source, and many of those who have tried

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<v Speaker 1>haven't come back alive. No one even attempted to plumb

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<v Speaker 1>the depths of the Fustillon until nineteen seventy four, when

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<v Speaker 1>two divers undertook navigating the maze of chambers and narrow

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<v Speaker 1>tunnels of the spring. Neither of those divers came back

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<v Speaker 1>to tell us what they had seen. In nineteen ninety six,

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<v Speaker 1>another diver attempted it, but he lost his life to

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<v Speaker 1>the Fustillon as well. Before many years after, divers were

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<v Speaker 1>prohibited from diving into the spring until twenty nineteen, when

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<v Speaker 1>a diver undertook exploring about a thousand, two hundred feet

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<v Speaker 1>that's three hundred and seventy meters of passageways. Luckily, he

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<v Speaker 1>returned alive, but didn't find the source of the spring,

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<v Speaker 1>nor did he find another dimension or a monstrous serpent.

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<v Speaker 1>But hey, there's still time. Today's episode is based on

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<v Speaker 1>the article France's Mysterious Fustillon Spring stubbornly keeps its secrets

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<v Speaker 1>on how stuffworks dot com, written by Joslin Shields. Brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff is production of by Heart Radio in partnership with

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<v Speaker 1>how stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Thing.

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