A brutal summer has caused havoc for many many people in Spain, however, an unexpected side-effect of the drought has delighted the country’s archaeologists - the emergence of a prehistoric stone circle, usually covered by water, has emerged to the surface.
The structure known as the Dolmen of Guadalperal and dubbed the Spanish Stonehenge is a circle of dozens of megalithic stones that are believed to date back to 5,000 BC.
It currently sits fully exposed in the corner of the Valdecanas reservoir, in the central province of Caceres, where authorities say the water level has dropped to 28 percent capacity.
Amalie Garcia, 54, stands next to The Dolmen of Guadalperal, a megalithic monument that emerged due to drought at the Valdecanas reservoir in El Gordo, western Spain, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) pic.twitter.com/HR2vRQ6XBm
— Manu Fernández (@manufernandezap) August 14, 2022
A drought in Spain revealed the Neolithic Dolmen of Guadalperal, a circle of standing stones placed on an ancient lake shore when water levels were lower than today. pic.twitter.com/bVs1UFJthy
— Hernan Cortes (@CyberPunkCortes) August 11, 2021
Local historical and tourism associations have advocated moving the Guadalperal stones to a museum or elsewhere on dry land.At c. 20m long the magnificent Grand Dolmen at Bagneux in Saumur (Maine-et-Loire) is one the biggest dolmens in France and the single terminal slab is 7m wide. It is a dolmen angevin but only one support for the trilith portal entrance survives (to the left of the woman). pic.twitter.com/B78EOv71E1
— Frenchpostcardsofmegaliths (@PhilWat09037421) August 18, 2022