Meaning of hunger stone | Babel Free

Definitions

A stone, either naturally exposed or intentionally embedded in a river during a drought, which is dated and often inscribed to mark the water level as a warning to future generations that they may face famine if the water reaches that low level again. Such stones are common in Central Europe.

Equivalents

Examples

“If there were a "hunger stone" in the Fox river like the one in the Elbe, it would now be showing its unwelcome face above the waters—which is equivalent to saying that the water level, and power correspondingly, is very low indeed.”

“In the Rhine, off Bingen, there is a cluster of rocks known as the "hunger stones," which are visible only in years of extraordinary, protracted dry weather. When they can be seen, it is supposed to mean a year of poor food crops but incomparable wine.”

“Being here in Frankfurt reminds me of this region's famous »Hungersteine«, or hunger stones, as the Main River boatmen used to call the rocks that became visible when the water level was low.”

“It sat on the bluffs of the Susquehanna, where I discovered the hunger stones, which in most years were covered by the river and could be seen only during drought years.”

“Our ancestors were creative in the ways they commemorated historical climactic events. A 2018 summer drought, for example, exposed "hunger stones" in the Czech Elbe River. Records of extremely low water levels from the fifteenth through the nineteenth century, as well as warnings of their consequences, have been chiseled into these river boulders. For instance, one carved hunger stone reads, "Wenn Du mich siehst, dann weine." If you see me, weep.”

CEFR level