Archaeologists have been delighted by the appearance of a prehistoric stone circle dubbed the ‘Stonehenge of Spain’.
Weeks of intense heat and drought across Europe have caused water levels in rivers and lakes to drop to levels few can remember, revealing long-flooded treasures – and some deadly danger. .
In Spain, archaeologists were delighted by the appearance of a prehistoric stone circle dubbed the “Spanish Stonehenge” that is often covered by the water of a dam that has fallen into drought. worst drought in decades.
Officially known as the Dolmen of Guadalperal, the rock circle now sits entirely in one corner of the Valdecanas reservoir, in the central province of Caceres, where authorities say the water level has dropped to 28 percent of its capacity.
![The dolmens of Guadalperal, also known as the Stonehenge of Spain, are seen due to the receding water of the Valdecanas reservoir on the outskirts of El Gordo, Spain [File: Susana Vera/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-08-20T055939Z_1289605377_RC29PV9BDORN_RTRMADP_3_EUROPE-WEATHER-DROUGHT-DISCOVERIES.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513)
The stone circle was discovered by German archaeologist Hugo Obermaier in 1926, but the area was flooded in 1963 during a rural development project under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Since then it has only been fully visible four times.
One of Europe’s other mighty rivers, the Danube, has dropped to one of its lowest levels in nearly a century due to drought, revealing the remains of more than 20 German warships sunk during the Second World War near Serbian river port town of Prahovo.
These ships were among hundreds of ships sunk by the Nazi Black Sea fleet along the Danube in 1944 as they were retreating from advancing Soviet forces. Sunken ships still impede river traffic when water levels are low.
![Ivica Skodric, an elderly local fisherman, inspects the wreck of a German warship on the Danube river in Prahovo, Serbia on August 18, 2022 [Fedja Grulovic/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-08-19T104133Z_950694474_RC2ZYV9KN3W6_RTRMADP_3_EUROPE-WEATHER-SERBIA-SHIPS.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C514)
Italy has declared a state of emergency for the areas around the Po River, and in late July a 450kg (1,000 pound) World War II bomb that had been submersed was discovered in the flowing waters. low of the longest river in the country.
About 3,000 people living near the northern village of Borgo Virgilio, near the city of Mantua, were evacuated while military experts cleared and conducted a controlled explosion of US-made equipment earlier this month.
![Members of the Italian military remove a World War II-era bomb discovered in the dry Po river, which is suffering its worst drought in 70 years, in Borgo Virgilio, Italy, on May 7 8 year 2022 [Flavio Lo Scalzo/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-08-07T112846Z_1608011875_RC2KRV9EGVN1_RTRMADP_3_EUROPE-WEATHER-ITALY-DROUGHT-BOMB.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C520)
![A World War II bomb discovered in the dry Po river is detonated by the Italian military in Medole, Italy, on August 7, 2022 [10th Engineer Regiment/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-08-20T055922Z_591105099_RC2TRV978NV2_RTRMADP_3_EUROPE-WEATHER-DROUGHT-DISCOVERIES.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C514)
Memories of past droughts have also been revived in Germany by the reappearance of the so-called “hunger stones” along the Rhine. More such stones have appeared along the banks of Germany’s largest river in recent weeks.
Bearing people’s dates and initials, their reappearance is seen by some as a warning and reminder of the hardships humans faced during previous droughts.
Dates visible in rock at Worms, south of Frankfurt and Rheindorf, near Leverkusen, include 1947, 1959, 2003 and 2018.
