Drowned 1,000-year old church re-emerges from the deep as drought rages on

The remains of a church dating back to 1062 have completely reappeared after being submerged in a reservoir as the region faces severe droughts.

The ghost village of Sant Roma de Sau, Catalunya was flooded in the 1960s to create a reservoir.

Over the last three decades the belltower of the 11^th Century church has been revealing more of itself as the reservoir shrinks. Today however, the church’s belfry, nave and building foundations are completely exposed as water levels have diminished significantly.

Currently the Sau reservoir is only 9% full and authorities are working around the clock to remove its fish to prevent them asphyxiating.

The Sau reservoir is one of many Catalonian water basins struggling with an ongoing drought in Spain.

Spain’s meteorological agency Aemet announced last week that the Iberian Peninsula had officially entered a period of long-term drought following reductions in rainfall and rising temperatures in the last three years.

READ MORE:

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• Spain’s Andalucia commitment to supply drought-hit Axarquia with 31 hectometres of water this year
• Spain’s Catalonia region ramps up water restrictions due to ongoing severe drought