Age-old secrets of Europe's dry river bed and lake bottom emerge - BBC News

Elsa Maishman
BBC news

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August 22, 2022

image source,Reuters

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image caption,

The Rhine, a “hunger stone” engraved with the year, is displayed when the water level drops, showing how far the water level has dropped in the past

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Simultaneously with extreme heat and drought in various parts of China, the heat wave in Europe, on the other side of the Eurasian continent, continued for several weeks;

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This not only caused severe problems with the navigation and movement of ships, but also accidentally exposed some treasures and secrets normally buried underwater.

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The most disturbing of these is the hunger stone. They are found on the waterline of the river dug into the river during the drought of the past, as a warning to posterity: when the stones come to the surface, trouble is coming.

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The place where most of the “hunger stones” reappear is on the banks of the Elbe, which flows from the Czech Republic through Germany.

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In 1616, a stone in the river emerged from the water and was inscribed with a phrase, believed to date back to the 15th century, which meant “If you see me, cry”.

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The lowering of the Danube in Serbia revealed wrecks of ships sunk during World War II, some loaded with explosives.

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The ships were found in the river near the city of Prakhovo and were part of the Nazi fleet that sank there in 1944.

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As the drought continues, expect to see more secrets hidden underwater for years.

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Warships emerged during the European drought — image caption,

Several German warships sunk during WWII spent more than 70 years underwater and are now exposed to the sun.These ships were fleeing Soviet pursuit when they sank

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The unexploded ordnance that had been lying under the river Po in Italy for many years has also re-emerged.

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In July 2022, 3,000 villagers near the city of Mantua were evacuated to allow experts to safely defuse and detonate a submerged WWII bomb.

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Soldiers observe a bomb being defused — image caption,

Italian soldiers remove an unexploded device from World War II from the dry riverbed of the Po river

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The water level of the Po dropped and a wartime German barge emerged, which sank in 1943.

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A few months ago, locals witnessed the resurgence of the Zibello barge as the water level dropped. As the drought continued, the hull was increasingly exposed to sunlight.

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The wreck of a barge emerged — image caption,

The Zibero barge gradually emerges from the water

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After the fall of the water level of the Tiber in Rome, the remains of an ancient bridge appear. The bridge was probably built in the time of Emperor Nero about 50 years ago.

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When the water level is low, there is always a small part of the ruins on the surface, but now you can see a lot more than usual.

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It is located under a modern bridge, the Vittorio Emanuele II.

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Ruins of an ancient bridge — image caption,

The remains of an ancient bridge built in the time of Emperor Nero reveal the surface of the River Tiber

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In central Spain, the “Spanish Stonehenge” also emerged in the Valdecanas reservoir, in the province of Cáceres.

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Officially known as the Guadalperal Tombs, the megalithic circle is believed to date back to the 5th millennium BC

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They were discovered by archaeologists in 1926 and in 1963 a local rural development project was implemented to build a reservoir and these stone tombs were submerged.

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Since then, they have emerged four times.

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Spanish stonehenge — image caption,

The reservoir in central Spain is dry and the “Stonehenge” at the bottom of the reservoir is exposed.

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In Galicia, on the border with Portugal, a “ghost village” emerged from a completely drained reservoir earlier this year.

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There is a village called Aceredo where this reservoir is located. The original villagers who have moved to other places have heard the news and rushed back to their hometowns to take a look at the remains of their homes from that time.

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abandoned village — image caption,

A village in Spain near the border with Portugal is classified as a reservoir, submerged by water, and only emerges when the water level is extremely low

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Britain has also found long-lost treasures.

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A reservoir in the village of Derwent in Derbyshire has dried up to reveal what is thought to be the remains of an ancient local church.

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A reservoir was built there in the 1940s and the whole village became a reservoir area, submerged by water.

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Clifford Lake Reservoir in Cornwall has dried up to reveal the remains of an ancient tree.

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In the Bodmin Moor area, a reservoir was built in the 1980s and large tracts of forest were submerged by water.

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old tree branches — image caption,

The trees sank when the Bodmin Moor reservoir was built and are now back in daylight

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Traces of a 17th-century garden emerged at Lydiard Park in Swindon, southwest England, as green lawns withered under the lingering heat, exposing footprints on the ground.

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A similar “ghost garden” has also appeared on the nearby Longleat estate.

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