"If you see me, cry." ”
According to the BBC, The Guardian and other British media reported on August 19, local time, the European continent suffered from a sustained heat wave and drought this summer, with temperatures in many places hitting record highs and rainfall plummeting. The water level of some rivers has dropped rapidly, and the "hunger stones" left by the Ancestors of Europe in the year of the Great Drought have reappeared in the sky, alerting the world.
"Stone of Hunger" Source: The Guardian
According to Xinhua News Agency on August 18, since the end of June this year, successive heat waves have made Europeans bitter, and temperatures in southern, western and eastern Europe have hit record highs. The data shows that Portugal, Spain, France and parts of the United Kingdom all experienced temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in July, with the United Kingdom breaking through 40 degrees Celsius for the first time.
The weather was hot, plus the rainfall was significantly lower than in previous years, and drought occurred in some parts of Europe. Parts of the Loire in France dried up almost completely, and some canals were forced to close. The Rhine is one of Europe's golden waterways, and data from August 16 show that it flows through the Cologne section of Germany to a depth of less than two metres. The water level of Italy's longest river, The Wave, is at an all-time low, and some river cruises have been suspended this summer.
Recent data released by the European Drought Watch website shows that about 63% of the EU and the UK have issued drought warnings or warnings. Andrea, a researcher at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, warns that Europe will suffer "the worst drought in 500 years"!
On August 9, 2022 local time, the Loire River was already very low, and some places could even be walked through
According to the Guardian, Europe's rivers are "drying up in a devastating drought," and the "stone of hunger" carved by The European ancestors in the year of the great drought has also reappeared in this drought to warn the world.
On August 8, Twitter user "Batallitas" posted many photos of the "Hungry Stone", which were widely forwarded by netizens and aroused widespread attention.
The oldest "Stone of Hunger" in his photographs dates back to 1616 and is inscribed in German: "If you see me, cry." ”
Other "Stones of Hunger" are inscribed: "People who once saw me wept." Those who see Me now will cry. "Once the stone is gone, life will flourish again."
Screenshot of "Batallitas" tweet
According to public information, the "Hungry Stone" is a common hydrological landmark in Central Europe, usually established in Germany and German settlements between the 15th and 19th centuries. The ancestors used this as a reminder to warn future generations of the suffering caused by drought. In German, there is even a word specifically for these rocks – "hungersteine" (literally translated as "hunger stone").
Most of the "Stones of Hunger" are found in the Elbe River Basin, which originates in the southern foothills of the Krkonoše Mountains on the Czech-Polish border and flows through the Czech Republic and Germany, flowing into the North Sea.
According to a study by a team of Czech archaeologists in 2013, these dates can be found on the "Hungry Stone": 1417, 1616, 1707, 1746, 1790, 1800, 1811, 1830, 1842, 1868, 1892 and 1893.
The researchers describe the stones as "engraved with the hardships of time, as well as the acronyms of the names of authors who have been obliterated by history." "It means drought has led to crop failures, food shortages, rising prices, and starvation of the poor."
According to the BBC, in the history of the European continent, the sharp drop in river water levels has often meant poverty and misery. Drought not only destroyed crops, but also cut off the waterways that transported food and various supplies of life, and then famine came. Central Europe, which includes Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, and parts of Switzerland, relies on fertile land on both sides of the river to produce food.
The most recent drought in Central Europe occurred in 2018, when people also carved the "Stone of Hunger".
It is worth noting that after the severe drought this year caused the water level of many rivers on the European continent to drop, the exposed water surface is far more than the "hungry stone".
The water level of The Wave River, the longest river in Italy, has fallen to a 70-year low, and the remains of an ancient village appear in the river; In addition, recent "unearthed" in the Po River Basin include the wreckage of the Zibello barge sunk in World War II, Nazi military vehicles, and a 450-kilogram (1,000-pound) unexploded bomb. The discovery and detonation of this bomb directly led to the temporary evacuation of more than 3,000 residents in the vicinity.
A 450-kilogram bomb weighing during World War II was found on the riverbed of the Po River
In Lombardy, Italy, bronze age wooden building foundations are revealed from the riverbed of the Oglio River; 100,000-year-old deer skulls and the remains of hyenas, lions and rhinos appear in dried up parts of Lake Como.
The water level on the Danube River in Serbia also fell to its lowest level in a century, with the wreckage of more than 20 German warships loaded with explosives that were sunk during World War II. The turret portion of the wreckage of these warships still appears to be intact, while most of the battleship's main body is still buried under the sandbar of the river beach.
The wreckage of a German Nazi warship on the Danube
The "ghost village" at the bottom of the Lima River in Spain has also been seen again in recent days. The small village near the Portuguese border is called Aceredo, and in 1992 the Spanish government flooded the Lima River to make room for the Alto Lindoso reservoir. Now, 30 years later, the village has reappeared due to a severe drought.
Aerial view of the "ghost village" of the Lima River in Spain
According to the New York Post reported on the 17th, in the dry riverbed of the European continent, someone has carved a new date on the "Hunger Stone" - 2022.
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