(ORDO NEWS) — A huge megalithic complex and a centuries-old church are among those underwater monuments that appeared in Spain as a result of a severe drought that caused the water level to drop.
After a prolonged drought, Spain’s reservoirs supplying towns and farms are just under 36% full, according to data from the environment ministry in August.
In western Spain, in the Extremadura region, the receding waters of the Valdecañas reservoir have unearthed a prehistoric stone circle on an islet that is normally underwater.
Nicknamed the “Spanish Stonehenge”, a circle of dozens of megalithic stones was discovered by archaeologists in 1926, but the area was flooded in 1963 during the construction of a reservoir.
The stones also attract tourists who travel to the islet on boats operated by several private firms. The Guadalperal Dolmen dates back to 5000 BC.
“People are leaving excited,” said Rubén Argenta, owner of a firm that offers guided tours to the rocks.
Manuel Mantilla, 60, from the southern city of Cordoba, visited the site with his wife after hearing about it from the media. “We saw this as a unique opportunity,” he said.
In the northeastern region of Catalonia, receding waters have exposed the ruins of an 11th-century church in the normally flooded village of Sant Roma de Sau, which was flooded in the 1960s when a dam was built nearby.
Attracted by TV reports and images on social media, crowds of tourists filled the restaurants in the nearby village of Vilanova de Sau.
“For many years the water level has not been as low as it is now,” Nuria Ferrerons, 45, said during a recent visit to the site. “We saw it on social media and said, ‘Well, let
‘s see how it is,'” she added.
may collapse.
“Usually you can only see the bell tower,” said Sergi Riera, who came to see something “that hasn’t been seen for many years.”
The climate crisis has left parts of Spain experiencing the driest weather in more than 1,000 years, and winter rains are expected to decrease further, a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience has found.
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