Europe’s Historic Droughts Uncover ‘Hunger Stones,’ Ancient Monuments
Across Europe, dwindling water levels in rivers and reservoirs are revealing relics of the past as a severe drought gripsโ the continent. The extreme conditions are impacting shipping, exposing prehistoric structures, and bringingโค to light “hunger stones”โค – โhistorical markers โคwarning of past famines.
In the Netherlands, the Waal River has dropped so low it’s fallen below the bottom marker on bridges. Germany’s Rhine River is experiencing shipping โขdisruptionsโ due to its diminished depth. Meanwhile, inโ Spain, the receding waters โคof the Buendรญa Reservoirโฃ in the province of โCรกceres have revealed the Dolmen of Guadalperal, a โขprehistoric stone monumentโ nicknamed the “Spanish Stonehenge,” for only the fourth time sinceโ 1960. The stones, dating back thousands of years, โคwere submerged after advancement during the Francisco Franco dictatorship.
Elsewhere, so-called hunger stones – medieval markers inscribed with warnings about low water levels โคand potential famine – are โขreappearing in rivers, a stark reminder of pastโ hardships.
“It’s quite extraordinary, especially for thisโ time of year,” saidโค Martinaโข Becker from the German company HGK Shipping, in a statement to the BBC.โ “This is an unusual situation for us, and the question is what happens โin โOctober, whenโ the usually dry months arrive. โคWe are already approaching the record low level we had in 2018. We could reach that level next โweek.”
Whileโข seasonal drops in waterโข levels are common, this โฃyear’s drought is exceptionally โsevere. Scientists link thes increasingly frequent and intense โฃweather disasters toโ human-induced climate change. NASA data indicates the planet has already warmed 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit as 1880, exacerbating such events.โ Addressing the crisis, experts say, requires a significant reduction in reliance on fossil fuels.