Relic Watch: A running list of stuff exposed by our drying bodies of water

Nazi war ships, Buddhist statues, human remains ... what else will worldwide droughts reveal? Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images By AJ Dellinger Aug. 29, 2022

Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images News/Getty Images Climate change is causing heat waves and droughts across the planet. Bodies of water are drying up — and as water levels recede, they’re revealing parts of history that have long been buried.

From warships, to statues, to ominous warnings from humans who came before us, these are some of the most interesting discoveries that have been made because of drought and low water levels.

ALEX PLAVEVSKI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

It is believed to have been arranged around 5,000 B.C., but was lost to flooding.

Spanish Stonehenge A hot summer and drought in Spain revealed a man-made rock formation known as "Spanish Stonehenge," or Dolmen of Guadalperal. Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images News/Getty Images

The Danube River is at its lowest level in nearly a century, which has led to the discovery of sunken German warships lost during World War II.

Nazi warships The ships, spotted near Prahovo, Serbia, still had explosives and weapons on board. Darko Vojinovic/AP/Shutterstock

These rocks, found across Europe, were put in place in the 15th century as markers of low water levels to warn of potential famine.

Hunger stones Perhaps the most ominous discovery spurred by drought: "hungersteine," or "hunger stones." Olaf Koens/Twitter

Think the shoe’s owner could have ever imagined it would be found — in damn good condition — thousands of years later, thanks to melting snow?

A giant shoe 3,000 years ago in the Jotunheimen mountains of Norway, someone lost a massive shoe. Measuring at 28 cm, it would be a size 36 or 37 by today’s standards. Vegard Vike, Cultural History Museum in Oslo

The prints, believed to have been left by an Acrocanthosaurus, are likely more than 113 million years old.

Dinosaur footprints Drought across the American West led to the discovery of surprisingly intact dinosaur footprints in Texas. Dinosaur Valley State Park

Bodies of deceased people who had previously never been found have started floating to the surface — in multiple areas — as water levels drop.

Human remains Two people who died in the Swiss Alps were recently found, and human remains were found in a barrel in Lake Mead. PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP/Getty Images

More reading: The monsoon destruction in Pakistan right now is climate inequality laid bare You can’t have climate justice without racial justice How to deal with anxiety about natural disasters 5 good news stories about climate change BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images

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