Historic droughts reveal long-submerged relics. As prolonged droughts around the world this summer cause waters to recede to historic lows, long-submerged relics are emerging.
Reuters
August 24, 2022 / 02:11 PM IST
The wreckage of a World War Two German warship is seen as the Danube river reaches record low levels in Prahovo, Serbia. (Image: Reuters) Europe's worst drought in years has pushed the mighty river Danube to one of its lowest levels in almost a century, exposing the hulks of dozens of explosives-laden German warships sunk during World War Two near Serbia's river port town of Prahovo. (Image: Reuters) The vessels were among hundreds scuttled along the Danube by Nazi Germany's Black Sea fleet in 1944 as they retreated from advancing Soviet forces, and still hamper river traffic during low water levels. (Image: Reuters) Strewn across the riverbed, some of the ships still boast turrets, command bridges, broken masts and twisted hulls, while others lie mostly submerged under sand banks. In March, the Serbian government invited a tender for the salvage of the hulks and removal of ammunition and explosives. The cost of the operation was estimated at 29 million euros ($30 million). (Image: Reuters) A prehistoric stone circle currently sits fully exposed in one corner of Spain's Valdecanas reservoir, in the central province of Caceres, where authorities say the water level has dropped to 28 percent of capacity. Officially known as the Dolmen of Guadalperal but dubbed the Spanish Stonehenge, the circle of dozens of megalithic stones is believed to date back to 5000 BC. (Image: Reuters) It was discovered by German archaeologist Hugo Obermaier in 1926, but the area was flooded in 1963 in a rural development project under Francisco Franco's dictatorship. Since then it has only become fully visible four times. (Image: Reuters) An aerial view of a previously submerged village revealed by low water levels in the Cabril dam reservoir in Pedrogao Grande, Portugal. (Image: Reuters) A once submerged Buddhist statue sits on top of Foyeliang island reef in the Yangtze river, which appeared after water levels fell due to a regional drought in Chongqing, China. The statue is believed to be 600 years old and built during the Ming and Qing dynasties. (Image: Reuters)