This is an aerial view taken with a drone of the Dolmen of Guadalperal, the so-called Spanish Stonehenge, which is situated between land and the Valdecanas reservoir, File photo by Jero Morales/EPA-EFE
Spain is just one of many European countries to experience record-breaking temperatures and drought this summer. One result of the dry spell in the country is an incredibly rare sight that has captured worldwide intrigue.
Officially known as Dolmen of Guadalperal, the man-made rock formation -- dubbed "Spanish Stonehenge" because it resembles the more famous English Stonehenge -- has emerged from the Valdecanas reservoir in the Spanish province of Caceres, where drought has dropped the water level to 28% of capacity, according to local authorities.
Sightings of the formation have been in the single digits since 1963 when the area was flooded during a rural development project and the monument vanished from view.
Originally discovered by German archaeologist Hugo Obermaier in 1926, Dolmen of Guadalperal consists of dozens of megalithic stones vertically arranged and is believed to date to 5,000 B.C.
"I had seen parts of it peeking out from the water before, but this is the first time I've seen it in full," Angel Castaño, a resident of a nearby village and president of the local Raíces de Peralêda cultural association, told Atlas Obscura.
"It's spectacular because you can appreciate the entire complex for the first time in decades."
But now, the rare exposure of the stones has led to historical curiosity, with little known about who originally erected the Dolmen. One theory about the creation suggests that the formation is meant to act as a tomb with human remains found in similar Dolmens across Western Europe.
Also taking advantage of the situation are local tour guides, including boat tour guide Ruben Argentas, who said that "the Dolmen emerges and the Dolmen tourism begins." Argentas is just one of the tour guides shuttling tourists back and forth from the historic site, bringing an economic boon to the tourism sector.
The climate in Spain, like much of Europe this summer, has negatively impacted the economy as well by ravaging local farmlands. Farmers have noted that crops such as the sweet pepper have been diminished over the summer months.
Drought conditions have unearthed more than just the Dolmen, as many European rivers have recently surfaced "Hungersteine" or "Hunger Stones," boulders with messages marking low water levels.
The stones were meant as warnings from ancestors about famine and date back to the 15th century. Outside of Europe, water levels in the Chinese Yangtze River have dropped so much that age-old Buddhist statues have been uncovered.
