250 munitions recovered from glaciers in Italy — The Guardian

In the Italian Dolomites, the military recovered and neutralized 250 First World War munitions that were exposed as a result of the rapid retreat of glaciers. During the summer, hikers repeatedly reported explosive finds, mainly near Canal San Bovo in the Primiero Valley in eastern Trentino.

As The Guardian reports, the work was carried out by the Italian Army’s Julia Alpine Brigade. The military also surveyed other high-altitude and glacial areas of the Trentino-Alto Adige region. The finds included Italian artillery shells and French mortar munitions.

Munitions remained preserved in ice for more than a century

The brigade said that the neutralized items included 18 Italian 75mm artillery shells and 37 French-made Thevetot mortar munitions. Such munitions were also supplied to the Royal Italian Army during the First World War.

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The finds are linked to the so-called White War — fighting between Austro-Hungarian and Italian forces in mountainous terrain in 1915–1918. Ice preserved some of these dangerous items for more than 100 years.

Hikers urged not to touch the finds

Stefano Morosini, a professor at the University of Bergamo and coordinator of heritage preservation projects at Stelvio National Park, linked the emergence of the artifacts to global warming. According to him, more and more such items are discovered at the end of each summer, and many of them have still not exploded.

Hikers and mountaineers are advised not to touch any explosive objects regardless of where they are found and to immediately report the finds to the police.