Abstract

We study the contents of an apparent void in the distribution of Lyα emitting galaxies at redshift 2.38. We show that this void is not empty, but contains a damped Lyα absorption-line system, seen in absorption against background QSO 2138-4427. Imaging does not reveal any galaxy associated with this absorption-line system, but it contains metals (Fe/H ~ –1.3), and its large velocity range (~180 km s^–1) implies a significant mass.