For weeks, some of Europe’s great rivers have been in the spotlight for revealing striking images of treasures hidden for decades. Shipwrecks, Nazi relics, and even mammoth bones. The drought that has been hitting the continent since spring and the prolonged lack of rain have severely affected the flow of Europe’s most important rivers such as the Loire, the Rhine, and the Danube, leaving them extremely dry.
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This time, the discoveries due to heat and drought are located in Italy and Serbia. The retreat of the Tiber River waters in Rome has brought to light the remains of an ancient bridge near St. Peter’s Basilica. It is a structure known as Nero’s Bridge, erected in honor of the ancient Roman emperor, which connected the central area of the Campus Martius with the right bank of the river.
According to archaeologists from the Rome Cultural Heritage Superintendency, the bridge is believed to have already existed in 39 AD, having been built before Nero’s time by Caligula, the emperor’s uncle.
A century-old ship sunk by a German mine in 1945
On the other hand, in Serbia, the low level of the Sava River has revealed the remains of a large century-old steamship. The rusted hull of a huge ship, known as Slovenian, appeared near the city of Sremska Mitrovica. A true relic that the Serbian media have nicknamed “the Titanic of the Sava.”
The rusted hull of the ship emerged earlier this month in the Sava River, although some parts had already appeared on the surface before. The ship, dated to the early 20th century, survived two world wars before sinking. According to historians from the city museum, the Slovenian was built in 1913 at a shipyard in Budapest, Hungary, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
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Measuring approximately 54 meters long, the ship was used for cargo transport and during World War II as a means to transport the wounded and other equipment. The historic vessel met its end when it hit a German mine in 1945, sinking to the bottom of the river until resurfacing now.
The drop in river levels across Europe has uncovered other relics, such as German ships, military motorcycles, and anti-tank mines. Despite the spectacular nature of these findings, satellite images from Copernicus, captured in early August, show that some currents have reached historic low levels, with serious consequences for freight transport, energy generation, and agricultural activity.
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Copernicus forecasts indicate that conditions will be much drier than normal across much of Europe until September, also warning that risks from heat waves and low levels will persist in many river basins in France, the Alpine region, and Eastern Europe.
