'Spanish Stonehenge' dating back 7,000 years emerges as water levels recede

The circle of dozens of megalithic stones is believed to date back to 5000 BC. Credit: AP

A summer of heatwaves and the worst drought in decades for rural Spain, has revealed a prehistoric stone circle in a dam whose waterline has receded.

Its official name is Dolmen of Guadalperal, but it is affectionally called Spanish Stonehenge.

The circle of stones is believed to date back to 5000 BC.

The dolmen of Guadalperal, seen due to receding waters in the Valdecanas reservoir near El Gordo, Spain Credit: AP
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It's in the Valdecanas reservoir, in Caceres, where authorities say the water level has dropped to 28% of capacity, according to reports.

German archaeologist Hugo Obermaier discovered it in 1926, but the area was flooded in 1963 in a rural development project.

Dolmen of Guadalperal

Since then it is believed it has only become fully visible four times.

Little is known about who erected them, though some suspect they are tombs due to human remains found near similar structures around the continent.