16 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Spanish Stonehenge re-emerges from the ‘Valdecañas reservoir’

Submerged by the Valdecañas reservoir for decades, the Guadalperal dolmen has been fully exposed as it was two summers ago. The historical miracle, called the Spanish Stonehenge, has only been seen four times so far.

Experts believe that the stunning circle of dozens of megalithic stones, officially called the Guadalperal Dolmens, has existed since 5000 BC.

Buried for more than half a century under the waters of the Valdecañas reservoir (Cáceres), the Dolmen of Guadalperal emerged as a result of severe drought in Spain.

The water level in the reservoir has reportedly dropped to 28% capacity as Spain experiences its worst drought in 60 years, according to officials.

The Dolmen of Guadalperal is a collection of 150 large granite stones arranged in a circular structure guarded by a menhir (standing stone) carved with snake and cup motifs. The term “dolmen” refers to an ancient structure in which standing stones support a large capstone to form a chamber—a structure often used for early Neolithic tombs.

The dolmen of Guadalperal, also known as the Spanish Stonehenge, is revealed due to the receding waters of the Valdecanas reservoir in the outskirts of El Gordo, Spain.

The Dolmen of Guadalperal likely once had a mounded top, and the chamber inside may have functioned as a tomb, a religious site, or a trading post along the Tagus River in southeastern Spain.

This ancient site was first discovered by German archaeologist Hugo Obermaier in 1926 before it became flooded in 1963 due to a rural development project under Francisco Franco’s dictatorship.

This ancient site was first discovered by German archaeologist Hugo Obermaier in 1926. In 1963, under the rule of Francisco Franco, the government flooded the area containing the Dolmen to create the Valdecañas Reservoir.

Until the last drought that hit Europe in the summer of 2019, only the tips of the largest megaliths were visible above the waterline, and this year we were able to see them again. With record low water levels, the Dolmen emerged in full.

The monument in 2019. (Photo: Pleonr via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

According to a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience, the Iberian peninsula where the dolman lives is at its driest point in 1,200 years, and winter rains are predicted to become even less frequent.

More than 45,000 signatures were collected in 2019 for the relocation of the structure.

Cover Photo: The Dolmen of Guadalperal, known as the “Spanish Stonehenge.” (Photo: Pleonr via Wikimedia CommonsCC BY-SA 4.0)

Related Articles

Divers Discover 2,500-Year-Old Shipwreck and anchors Off the Coast of Sicily

23 January 2025

23 January 2025

A shipwreck dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries BC was discovered in the waters of Santa Maria del...

Japan Researchers Uncover Lost Villa Believed to Belong to First Roman Emperor

19 April 2024

19 April 2024

Researchers from the University of Tokyo have discovered a nearly 2,000-year-old building at a site with ancient Roman ruins buried...

Artificial intelligence is Detecting New Archaeological Sites in the Arabian desert

5 October 2024

5 October 2024

A team of researchers at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi has developed a machine-learning algorithm to help them trawl vast...

200,000-year-old hand axe discovered in the northern part of Saudi Arabia

5 November 2023

5 November 2023

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) of Saudi Arabia has announced that archeological excavation teams at the Qurh site in...

2800-year-old settlement discovered in Vadnagar, India

17 January 2024

17 January 2024

An excavation in Gujarat’s Vadnagar, about 900 km southwest of New Delhi, India, has found the remains of a settlement...

A new finding in Persepolis reveals a Royal wall

23 October 2023

23 October 2023

A new find at Persepolis, whose magnificent ruins rest at the foot of Kuh-e Rahmat (Mount of Mercy) in southwestern...

The oldest meerschaum artifact found in Anatolia; of Çavlum Seal

18 July 2021

18 July 2021

The stamp seal unearthed during the rescue excavations of Çavlum Village on the Eskişehir Alpu Plain is the oldest meerschaum...

3,500-Year-Old Hittite Linen Fabric Exhibited for the First Time

10 March 2025

10 March 2025

A remarkable artifact, a piece of Hittite linen fabric dating back 3,500 years, has been publicly exhibited for the first...

Habib-i Neccar Mosque, one of the first mosques in Anatolia, was destroyed in the earthquake

12 February 2023

12 February 2023

Antakya Habib-i Neccar Mosque, one of the first mosques built in Anatolia, was destroyed in the earthquake that killed tens...

Ice Age Cave Entrance that Nobody has Entered for 16,000 Years found in Germany

4 August 2023

4 August 2023

Researchers report they have discovered the official entrance to an Ice Age cave near Engen, Germany, that nobody has entered...

World’s Smallest Stegosaurus Track Found

14 March 2021

14 March 2021

The smallest trace of stegosaurus in the world that lived 155 million years ago was found. Stegosaurus, a herbivorous dinosaur,...

Ancient eggshell in the Northern Cape hiding 300,000 years of history

12 July 2021

12 July 2021

Evidence from an ancient eggshell has revealed important new information about the extreme climate change faced by human early ancestors....

Getting to Know Matar Kubilea

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

Hittite state’s, With its collapse in 1200-1190 BC, Anatolia entered a period of drift from holistic to dispersal. (The Hittite...

Drone Mapping Reveals Shockingly Huge Size of 3,000-Year-Old Caucasus Settlement

11 January 2025

11 January 2025

Using drone mapping, an academic from Cranfield University in the UK has revealed that Dmanisis Gora, a 3,000-year-old mountainside fortress...

2,000-year-old financial record uncovered on Pilgrimage Road in the City of David, Jerusalem

17 May 2023

17 May 2023

A financial record dating back 2,000 years has been unearthed on the Pilgrimage Road in the City of David, Jerusalem’s...