Compiled by: Mintina
Sant Romà de Sau Church
An unusually dry winter, followed by record-breaking summer temperatures, has caused river levels to plummet around the world, especially in Europe. Italy's Tiber River dropped by one meter. France's longest river, the Loya River has never flowed so slowly. At the moment, barges are unable to pass the Rhine River which flows through six countries.
This summer, archaeologists and historians could be forgiven for feeling a little thankful that the world has experienced drought for the first time in 500 years. As the river water rapidly evaporates in extremely hot temperatures, ancient cities, statues, and ships that have been hidden for decades, even centuries, in the watery cemetery are emerging. Here are some of them.
The Hungry Stone is carved with the dates of historical regional droughts
Photo courtesy of Lithuania Post
The Hungry Stone
A Hungry Stone becomes a reminder of the drought. Dozens of Starvation Stones are scattered across Europe. These include the continent's oldest hydrological monuments, marking the droughts of 1417 and 1473.
The Starvation Stone records the sharp decline in harvests, lack of food, rising prices, and the starvation of poor people. A sentence in German reads, "When this place is underwater, life will become rich again."
Spanish Stonehenge
For half a century, the so-called Spanish Stonehenge, or Guadalperal Dolmen, has remained hidden in Spain A corner of the Valdecanas reservoir in the province of Cáceres.
Believed to have been built between 5,000 and 7,000 years ago, this prehistoric ring consists of dozens of huge stones and was first discovered by German archaeologist Hugo Obermaier in 1926. It has only been exposed four times since rural development projects flooded the area in 1963.
Reservoir depleted, ghost town reappeared
Aceredo village
Photo provided by: India Times
Near the Portuguese border, a small town called Aceredo once again entered people's sight. In 1992, the Lima River flooded the village due to the construction of a reservoir. As the reservoirs dried up, the structures resurfaced.
When the Scar House Reservoir was built in the Yorkshires in the 1920s, a medieval village here was flooded. Now, the water level in the reservoir has dropped by more than 50%, and ancient settlements have reappeared.
An even more disturbing reappearance of an abandoned Roman fortress in the Spanish province of Ourense. The 20,000 m2/2 hectare Aquis Querquennis was built between 69 and 79 AD and fell out of use around 120 AD. This area is usually submerged at the bottom of the As Conchas reservoir.
Also in Spain, earlier in the summer the Gothic arches of a medieval bridge dating back to the 15th century were revealed over the Cijara reservoir in the Extremadura region. Now, the bridge is completely exposed. Before that, it had been underwater for nearly 70 years.
In Catalina, a small island on the north coast of the Península de Almina region in the Ceuta region, only the turret of the ancient church of Sant Romà de Sau remains above the water since the 1960s. The sacred building now appears in its entirety on dry ground.
Ships of World War II
In Italy, extreme heat led the government to declare a state of emergency around the Po river. A German barge from the Second World War has reappeared during recent days when river levels were extremely low.
Zibello went silent in 1943 and remained underwater until recently. In the south of the country, an ancient bridge from the reign of Roman emperor Nero also revealed its true identity.
Europe's second longest river, the Danube , has also fallen to its lowest level in a century. More than 20 war-era German ships were seen in a part of the river near the Prahovo region of Serbia. Some of them are buried in the sand. The other decks and turrets are well preserved. These warships were part of the hundreds of ships that Nazi Germany's Black Sea Fleet distributed on the Danube River in 1944.
Bodies and wreckage scattered in the glacier area
The wreckage of a plane that crashed on a Swiss glacier in 1968
In Switzerland, two unidentified skeletons were found in an ancient passage on the Chessjen Glacier. No one knows when the body appeared here. But as the glaciers receded, the remains of humans who disappeared long ago came to the surface. Recently, police in the Valais region compiled a list of 300 people who have disappeared in the area since 1925. Some of the descendants of these 300 people may be able to learn about the fate of their relatives.
The Aletsch glacier, for example, has looked particularly dangerous for many years. In 2012, the bodies of three brothers who disappeared in 1926 turned up. In 2017, the remains of a couple who had disappeared since 1942 were found. Recently, the wreckage of a plane crash in 1968 has emerged. As Aletsch melts away, we can expect more horrific discoveries.
An Asian river reveals its treasures
These statues of Buddha are more than 600 years old
Photo courtesy: The Goa Spotlight
In addition, three Buddha statues that are more than 600 years old have also surfaced in China's Yangtze River. Continuously built during the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty , these Buddha statues may have been to protect the safety of passing ships. Now, the region's power supply is strained due to drought.
Dinosaur tracks
Photo courtesy: Today.com
Oldest remains found
The North American continent may not have Roman monuments, but the hot summers have revealed some even older traces: Central Texas 113 million years old dinosaur tracks in front of. A riverbed was affected by severe drought. These footprints may belong to an approximately 30-meter-long Acrocanthosaurus that passed through here. This dinosaur left a total of about 140 footprints, 60 of which are now very visible. For several years these lay beneath the water and silt. At this time, it is considered the most complete dinosaur footprint in the world. Acrocanthosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex are similar in appearance and almost the same size.
Source of information: Chasing Dreams Travel
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