A brutal summer has devastated many in rural Spain, but an unexpected side effect of the country’s worst drought in decades has archaeologists excited the resurgence of a prehistoric stone circle on a dam whose water levels have dropped.
Officially known as the Guadalperal Dolmen, but also referred to as the “Spanish Stonehenge,” the circle of dozens of megalithic stones is thought to date back to 5000 BC. back.
1 of 4 Guadalperal dolmens rise from the Tagus River in Spain — Photo: Susana Vera/Portal
The Guadalperal Dolmen rises from the Tagus River, Spain — Photo: Susana Vera/Portal
It is currently fully uncovered in a corner of the Valdecanas reservoir in the central province of Cáceres, where official figures say the water level has dropped to 28% of capacity.
“It’s a surprise, it’s a rare opportunity to be able to access it,” said archaeologist Enrique Cedillo of Madrid’s Complutense University, one of the experts who rushed to examine the circle before going underground again.
Since the 1963 flood, the site has only been seen four more times.
2 of 4 Guadalperal dolmens rise from the Tagus River in Spain — Photo: Susana Vera/Portal
The Guadalperal Dolmen rises from the Tagus River, Spain — Photo: Susana Vera/Portal
Dolmens are vertically arranged stones, usually supporting a flat stone. While many are scattered across Western Europe, little is known about who built them. Human remains found in or near many have led to an oftencited theory that they are graves.
Local history and tourism associations advocated moving the Guadalperal stones to a museum or other location on the mainland.
Climate change has left the Iberian Peninsula to its driest state in 1,200 years, and winter precipitation is expected to continue to decline, a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience has shown.
3 of 4 Guadalperal dolmens rise from the Tagus River in Spain — Photo: Susana Vera/Portal
The Guadalperal Dolmen rises from the Tagus River, Spain — Photo: Susana Vera/Portal
The nickname given to the site referred to Stonehenge in the Wiltshire region of England.
One of the most mysterious monuments in the world, this is a huge megalithic construction. Stonehenge is believed to date back to 3100 BC. to 2075 BC is dated
4 of 4 The stone circle at Stonehenge near Amesbury, UK — Photo: A.Pattenden/English Heritage/Handout via Portal
The stone circle at Stonehenge near Amesbury, UK — Photo: A. Pattenden/English Heritage/Handout via Portal
It is believed that each stone in the English monument weighs an average of 50 tons. They are arranged in a circle.
There is still no scientific confirmation of the function these stones served at the time they were organized.