Europe’s Drought Exposes Ancient Stones, World War Two Ships as Waters Fall

Wreckage of a World War Two German warship is seen in the Danube in Prahovo, Serbia August 18, 2022. (Reuters)
Wreckage of a World War Two German warship is seen in the Danube in Prahovo, Serbia August 18, 2022. (Reuters)
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Europe’s Drought Exposes Ancient Stones, World War Two Ships as Waters Fall

Wreckage of a World War Two German warship is seen in the Danube in Prahovo, Serbia August 18, 2022. (Reuters)
Wreckage of a World War Two German warship is seen in the Danube in Prahovo, Serbia August 18, 2022. (Reuters)

Weeks of baking drought across Europe have seen water levels in rivers and lakes fall to levels few can remember, exposing long-submerged treasures - and some unwanted hazards.

In Spain, suffering its worst drought in decades, archaeologists have been delighted by the emergence of a prehistoric stone circle dubbed the "Spanish Stonehenge" that is usually covered by the waters of a dam.

Officially known as the Dolmen of Guadalperal, the stone circle currently sits fully exposed in one corner of the Valdecanas reservoir, in the central province of Caceres, where authorities say the water level has dropped to 28% of capacity.

It was discovered by German archaeologist Hugo Obermaier in 1926, but the area was flooded in 1963 in a rural development project under Francisco Franco's dictatorship. Since then it has only become fully visible four times.

Memories of past droughts have also been rekindled in Germany by the reappearance of so-called "hunger stones" along the River Rhine. Many such stones have become visible along the banks of Germany's largest river in recent weeks.

Bearing dates and people's initials, their re-emergence is seen by some as a warning and reminder of the hardships people faced during former droughts. Dates visible on stones seen in Worms, south of Frankfurt, and Rheindorf, near Leverkusen, included 1947, 1959, 2003 and 2018.

Another of Europe's mighty rivers, the Danube, has fallen to one of its lowest levels in almost a century as a result of the drought, exposing the hulks of more than 20 German warships sunk during World War Two near Serbia's river port town of Prahovo.

The vessels were among hundreds scuttled along the Danube by Nazi Germany's Black Sea fleet in 1944 as they retreated from advancing Soviet forces, and still hamper river traffic during low water levels.

Italy has declared a state of emergency for areas around the River Po, and in late July a previously submerged 450-kg (1,000-pound) World War Two bomb was discovered in the low-running waters of the country's longest river.

Around 3,000 people living near the northern village of Borgo Virgilio, close to the city of Mantua, were evacuated while military experts defused and carried out a controlled explosion of the US-manufactured device earlier this month.



Mercedes 1955 ‘Streamliner’ Set to Smash F1 Record at Auction

Mechanics push a W196 old timer racing car at a Mercedes Benz vintage car show marking the German car maker's 125 anniversary at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, August 27, 2011. (Reuters)
Mechanics push a W196 old timer racing car at a Mercedes Benz vintage car show marking the German car maker's 125 anniversary at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, August 27, 2011. (Reuters)
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Mercedes 1955 ‘Streamliner’ Set to Smash F1 Record at Auction

Mechanics push a W196 old timer racing car at a Mercedes Benz vintage car show marking the German car maker's 125 anniversary at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, August 27, 2011. (Reuters)
Mechanics push a W196 old timer racing car at a Mercedes Benz vintage car show marking the German car maker's 125 anniversary at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, August 27, 2011. (Reuters)

A sleek, long-nosed Mercedes raced by Stirling Moss and five-times Formula One world champion Juan Manuel Fangio in 1955 could become the most expensive grand prix car of all time at an auction in Stuttgart on Saturday.

The W196 R Stromlinienwagen ("Streamline car"), one of only four complete examples in existence, is being sold by RM Sotheby's on behalf of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) at a target price of more than 50 million euros ($52 million).

If it meets the estimate, it would also be the second costliest car ever sold at auction after a 1955 Mercedes 300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe sportscar that changed hands for 135 million euros in May 2022.

The most expensive grand prix car sold at auction to date was another ex-Fangio 1954 Mercedes W196 that fetched $29.6 million at Goodwood in 2013.

The IMS car is the first streamline-bodied W196 R to become available for private ownership and, in its open-wheel form, was driven to victory by Fangio at the non-championship Buenos Aires Grand Prix in 1955.

Moss raced it with the streamline body at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, retiring after setting the fastest lap at an average speed of 215.7 kph.

Mercedes withdrew from factory-sponsored motorsport in 1955 after a Le Mans 24 Hours disaster that killed 84 people, returning to Formula One as an engine maker in 1994.

The car is presented in its Monza livery with full documentation.

"Without any doubt, it's the most beautiful race car in the world and ever. Nothing can compare. It's simply a masterpiece of style and design," Marcus Breitschwerdt, head of Mercedes-Benz heritage, told Reuters Television.

"It is very fast. The top speed is actually above and beyond 300 kph.

"I wouldn't expect that it's too much of an effort to get it back to driving condition. And we gladly will offer whoever buys the car to do it for them."

The car, chassis number 00009/54, was donated to the IMS by Mercedes in 1965 and is being sold to raise funds for the museum's restoration efforts.

The Indianapolis museum, which is aiming to become more US-focused, is selling a total of 11 cars from its collection at three separate auctions this year.

The Mercedes "Silver Arrows" dominated the immediate pre- and post World War Two era of grand prix racing with the W196 R a world-beater in 1954 and 1955.

The streamlined bodywork with enclosed wheels was used at high-speed circuits, with the open-wheeled version favored for more twisty tracks.