Learn about the "stones of hunger" revealed by drought in Europe
Low rainfall and prolonged high temperatures have caused droughts that affect many European countries. It also lowered the level of a number of rivers and revealed a dire warning from our ancestors about periods of misery and misery.
This revealed the so-called "hunger stones", rocks in riverbeds that can only be seen when water levels are very low.
Inscribed on it are messages left by people in previous eras about disasters caused by lack of water, a stark reminder of the hardships they faced during previous droughts.
These inscriptions go back decades and centuries, as shown on the account of "Patalitas" in a thread published on August 8th and now widely spread.
The oldest inscription found in the Elbe basin dates from 1616 and is written in German.
The text written on the stone says: “If you see me, cry
This "hunger stone" is particularly notable because it also has dates of severe drought on its surface.
According to a study conducted by a team of Czech archaeologists in 2013, the years 1417, 1616, 1707, 1746, 1790, 1800, 1811, 1830, 1842, 1868, 1892 and 1893 can be read on the stone.
An inscription on one of the other rocks says: "Life will flourish again once this stone is gone."
Another inscription reads: "The one who saw me once cried. He who sees me now will cry."
A third says, "If you see this stone again, you will cry. That's how the water was shallow in 1417."
Stones that proclaim poverty
In the past, if rivers reached such low levels, it meant poverty and suffering for many people.
Drought destroyed crops, cut off the waterways through which food and supplies of all kinds were transported, and then came famine.
In the past, Central Europe, which includes parts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Switzerland, relied on fertile land along the river banks for food production.
German journalist Olaf Koenz also used Twitter to suggest that there is a word in German to describe the rocks - "Hungersteine" (which literally translates to "hunger stones").
The word's inspiration came from an inscription found on a stone that describes 1947 as the "Year of Hunger".
In recent years, drought has become one of the most prominent signs of climate change in Central Europe.A reminder of the past
Among the cities in which a large number of these stones were discovered is the city of Dessen, which is located in the north of the Czech Republic, near the German border and where the rivers Elbe and Blauchnes meet.
As many as 12 of these stones appear on the course of the River Elbe, reminding local residents of a difficult period in the past.
Another "hunger stone" is on display in a museum in Schönebeck, Germany. This stone was located near the basin of a river port where low levels of water were seen.
Seeing this stone for boats indicated that the water level was too low to allow navigation.
Most of the "hunger stones" are found in the Elbe, although they also appear in other rivers in the region, such as the Rhine, the Mammel and the Weser.
severe dehydration
Warnings indicate that drought is currently affecting more than 60 percent of European land, according to the European Drought Observatory. The major rivers of Germany, England and Italy witnessed a decrease in their water level.
However, the low waters of the Italian city of Mantova did not reveal a "hunger stone". But what was discovered in the Po River was an unexploded World War II bomb weighing 450 kg.
In recent weeks, countries such as France and Spain have had to restrict water consumption.
In parts of both countries, authorities have had to cut off the water supply under certain conditions.
On August 7, French authorities announced that the country was facing the worst drought since records began in 1958.
In Germany, the low level of the Rhine River, which flows from the Swiss Alps into the North Sea, has already forced shipping companies to sail with reduced quantities of goods, according to Reuters news agency.