Lost landscapes are emerging in drought

The 1950s road and bridge that disappeared under a reservoir can be seen again as the waters recede in the heatwave

The heatwave has led to two lost structures being discovered in Ireland: one from 2,500 years ago and another the 1950s.

An unrecorded henge, or circular enclosure, in the Unesco site close to Newgrange, Co Meath, was found. In Co Down, a road and bridge submerged 60 years ago for a dam have re-emerged due to the drought.

The henge, which could measure up to 200 metres in diameter, is believed to have been built some 500 years after Newgrange, which dates from 3,000BC.

Crop hues give away an ancient henge in Co Meath

Anthony Murphy, a historian, made the discovery when taking pictures with a drone. He said: “The weather is absolutely critical to the discovery of this monument. I have flown a drone over the Boyne Valley regularly and have never seen this.”

Mr Murphy said the moisture in the soil that was lodged in the features of the henge had made the crop growing out of it appear greener in contrast to the drier, more yellow crop surrounding it.

“When all the crop is harvested, surface traces of this monument will vanish and we may not see it again for two or three decades, depending on when we get another prolonged dry spell,” he added.

The road and bridge that have reappeared in Co Down were submerged in the 1950s as part of the construction of a reservoir in the Mourne Mountains. The road passed between the mountains connecting Hilltown village with the fishing town of Kilkeel.

Arthur Mitchell, a local GP, told the BBC that he remembered using the busy road.

The Deer’s Meadow, as the area was previously known, was a turf site used by people from both sides of the mountains. “Many’s a one, when they were cutting turf, ended up with a woman from Hilltown or a woman from Kilkeel — turf cutting was also a social affair,” Dr Mitchell said.