The Hungry Stones of Elbe and Their Dark Secrets (9 photos + 1 video)
The record drought in Europe in 2018 exposed more than a dozen boulders in the Elbe Riverbed, usually hidden underwater. 
This occurred near the town of Děčín in the northern Czech Republic, near the German border. Some of these stones are carved with ominous messages warning people of hard times to come. 
These boulders are known as starvation stones or famine stones. They have served as historical markers recording water levels in Central European rivers during extreme droughts since at least the Middle Ages. 
In earlier times, drought invariably meant crop failure, and crop failure meant famine. Low river levels also paralyzed commercial shipping, leading to disrupted food supplies, rising prices, and a general deterioration in living conditions. 
An old German inscription on a stone on the banks of the Elbe sums it up succinctly: "Wenn du mich siehst, dann weine" — "If you see me, weep." 
A later Czech inscription reads: "Neplač holka, nenaříkej, když je sucho, pole stříkej" ("Don't cry, girl, don't grieve if it's dry, water the field"). 
This particular stone in Děčín, Czech Republic, became a famous landmark after the construction of a dam about a century ago, causing the boulder to appear approximately 126 days a year. 
This Hunger Stone is one of the oldest hydrological monuments in Central Europe: the earliest markings on it date back to 1417. About a dozen droughts have been recorded on the stone, with the last marking being made in 1893. 
A similar low-lying stone with carved water level markers existed in the Rhine River near Laufenburg. Unfortunately, this local monument, known as "Laufenstein," was blown up in 1908 or 1909 during the construction of a hydroelectric power station. 
Tsunami Stone
The hungry stones evoke associations with a similar phenomenon in Japan—tsunami stones. Hundreds of these stones, bearing warning signs such as "Do not build below this point," are scattered across the Japanese coast.
