Edinburgh's Witches Well

Just outside the walls of Edinburgh Castle, as you come off the Esplanade and onto the Royal Mile, there is a cast iron wall fountain which commemorates the place where over three hundred women were burned at the stake after accused of witchery.  

In the 1500s, more witch burnings were carried out at Castlehill than anywhere else in the country. The accused suffered brutal torture before being put to death at the stake.  

Often the women were strangled first and then their bodies were burned.  

If your ancestors were accused of witchcraft, here is a link that may be helpful in your Scottish research: http://webdb.ucs.ed.ac.uk/witches/