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This rock formation is known as the Stonehenge of Spain - and that it is currently visible at all is very extraordinary.
Because it's usually under water.
Due to the extreme drought, she has now reappeared.
Enriquo Cedillo, archaeologist at the Complutense University of Madrid:
“It is a surprise because it is a rare opportunity to re-examine a site that has not yet been properly examined.
First 100 years ago and then very quickly and not in the way archaeologists usually work: very slowly.
The fact that we can now see the place again is an opportunity we didn't have before.
So that's very gratifying."
In 1926 a German archaeologist discovered the rock formation.
Officially, the site is called "The Dolmens of Guadalperal".
According to estimates, they were erected several thousand years before Christ, probably as a cemetery.
In 1963 the area was flooded with the help of a dam.
Since then, the stones have only been seen four times, most recently in 2019, but only for a short time until the water level rose again.
The place is located in the Valdecanas reservoir.
And here the extreme drought is having severe consequences.
According to local authorities, the water level has dropped to a level of only 28 percent - so the stones are now dry.
And so some people are now even benefiting from the drought, Ruben Argentas for example, who runs a boat company.
Ruben Argentas, owner of a boating company:
“It suits me that the water is receding because the dolmens are visible.
Most of the time they are covered by water.
And when that goes down and hits the 35 percent mark, the dolmens will appear and 'dolmen tourism' will pick up speed.«
But even if more tourists come and researchers gain new insights: Overall, the drought in the region is extremely difficult, which affects agriculture in particular.
Jose Manuel Comenador, farmer:
“We haven't had enough rain since the spring, so the ponds are running out of water and there isn't enough for the cattle anymore.
So we have to bring water here so the animals can use the grass, otherwise they can't stand it.
The Iberian Peninsula is currently drier than it has been in 1,200 years.
Dolmen tourism is a positive side effect, but actually almost everyone is just waiting for one thing: rain.
