During the dictatorship of Spain's Francisco Franco more than half a century ago, dams and reservoirs were built across the country in order to improve water supplies.

Towns and villages were relocated while the original structures were flooded. Along with the once busy streets, even older Roman architecture was lost.

Last summer marked the driest period that Spain's northwestern Galicia region has seen since 1981.

This ongoing drought has led to reservoir levels falling to just 25 percent of normal capacity.

But the lower water levels have now revealed those lost towns that haven't been seen in decades.

Visitors from around the country are now heading to the region in order to get a glimpse of a bit of the past that may soon disappear again, when the drought ends.