San Antonio, Texas Archaeologists uncovered a cannonball that may have been fired during the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, just three months after another such rare discovery.
According to The Alamo Trust, the nonprofit organization that oversees the Alamo Mission, the ordnance was found outside the northeast corner of the Alamo Church, adjacent to the excavation area that another intact cannonball was unearthed in March.
Councillor Jacqi Hodgson, cabinet member responsible for waste services, said the "avoidable incident" wasted time, reminding everyone that "flares, fireworks or ammunition must never be brought to our recycling centers."
Ivybridge Recycling Centre was also forced to evacuate earlier this year after a tank shell was located. The most recent incident, as well that one, required emergency services responses and disrupted staff and residents who use the facilities.
The council is urging people to think before taking potentially explosive devices to recycling centers, particularly any items that are "old, unlabeled, or could be mistaken for something hazardous."
"Taking simple precautions helps keep everyone safe," Hodgson said.
San Diego, California A 911 call to the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) prompted a multi-agency response to remove a suspected military artillery shell found in a residential neighborhood near Del Mar Mesa Preserve.
According to SDPD Sgt. Saum Poorsaleh, the caller noticed the device while walking in the Torrey Highlands neighborhood.
Officers took photos of the object, and after consulting with officials, ordnance-handling technicians from the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFRD), the FBI and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar arrived on scene to investigate, SDFRD Capt. Jason Shanley said.
"Multiple X-rays were conducted, and the item appeared to be an artillery round with no fuse present and no immediate concerns identified," Shanley said. "Miramar took possession of the ordnance for further identification and disposal."
The unidentified munition was safely removed. There was no indication of how the item got there or for how long it had been by the roadside.
The film, It Takes a City, was scheduled to be shown by a theatre group at the Daimler Powerhouse arts complex. The story apparently centers on two different bomb disposal crews operating in Coventry decades apart.
Just hours before the event, workmen at the adjacent Sandy Lane Business Park in Radford discovered the UXO item. Authorities immediately established a 100-meter safety cordon, evacuating 96 nearby homes. An EOD team responded, executing a controlled detonation to neutralize the device.
Derek Nisbet, co-director of the theatre group, noted the historical irony, pointing out that the original Daimler factory on the site was almost completely destroyed during the war. The theatre group plans to reschedule the screening for later this month.
Valletta, Malta Offshore clearance operations for a planned submerged electricity cable between Malta and Sicily have resulted in the discovery and safe relocation of 117 UXO items. The clearance verified the official 99-kilometer route for the second interconnector (IC2), allowing cable-laying operations to proceed later this year.
During initial marine surveys, 707 magnetic anomalies were detected along the route, with 393 requiring direct physical investigation. While 84 targets were initially confirmed as explosive hazards, further excavation revealed additional munitions buried directly beneath the detected objects, raising the final count to 117.
The ordnance, many dating back to World War II, included hand grenades, artillery shells, and Hedgehog anti-submarine mortars. Due to the extreme depths and inherent safety risks, specialized EOD personnel utilized ROVs to safely relocate the munitions. The delicate operation was executed by Interconnect Malta's contractors in close continuous coordination with the Armed Forces of Malta.
Aberdeen, Scotland The Aberdeen Beach Esplanade has reopened to the public following the discovery of suspected unexploded ordnance, which caused the beach to shut down.
Police were called to the beachfront area near a local restaurant, and authorities quickly established a safety cordon and urged the public to avoid the area while an EOD team responded to the scene.
The EOD unit successfully assessed and removed the suspect item. Following the safe recovery operation, the Scottish Police lifted the cordon, reopened the beach, and thanked the public for their cooperation during the disruption.
Tacoma, Washington A routine home renovation took an unexpected when workers unearthed two WWII-era military rounds buried in a residential yard.
The Tacoma Police Department's EOD Unit responded to the home on North Hawthorne Street to assess the items. Technicians identified the munitions as two M77 90mm armor-piercing rounds, a projectile historically fired from tanks and anti-tank cannons. Both 23-pound items were solid steel, armor-penetrating rounds, and hence have no explosive hazard.
The munitions were safely transferred to the custody of an Army EOD squad. Following the response, authorities reminded the public that military ordnance can be found anywhere and in varying conditions. Even though this find proved to be inert, anyone who encounters a suspected munition should immediately retreat from the area and call 911 without touching or moving the item.
Laurel, Maryland The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is teaming up with the U.S. Army and Navy to develop new autonomous capabilities for the Man Transportable Robotic System Increment II (MTRS Inc II), a robotic platform widely used by military EOD technicians for explosive hazard mitigation.
The joint effort aims to upgrade the MTRS Inc II with advanced sensor and compute systems, enabling it to autonomously navigate, detect, and clear UXO over large operational areas like airfields. According to Christopher Korpela, a senior roboticist at APL, the upgraded system will be able to perceive its environment, avoid obstacles, identify explosive threats, and accurately place a charge or perform render-safe procedures from a safe distance before continuing its mission.
The ultimate goal of the partnership is to rapidly provide EOD operators with advanced autonomous tools that maximize standoff distances and significantly reduce the physical risks associated with large-scale UXO clearance.
For further information about this innovative project, check out Johns Hopkins APL's Website.
Albuquerque, New Mexico EOD technicians from the 377th Air Base Wing successfully removed WW II-era UXO from Badger Butte on Pueblo of Acoma lands. The clearance marks the conclusion of a yearlong operation dedicated to locating and safely extracting legacy munitions left behind from 1940s military training exercises across the state.
The extensive recovery effort required strict environmental oversight due to the site's close proximity to protected bald and golden eagle nesting areas, a common occurrence in the EOD/UXO field. Military EOD personnel worked in close coordination with environmental specialists and tribal representatives to ensure the disposal operations did not disrupt the sensitive wildlife habitats.
Baltimore, Maryland A Civil War-era Schenkl artillery shell was safely recovered from a Baltimore residential area after being unearthed by an online content creator searching for historical artifacts.
Following the discovery, the artifact hunter contacted local law enforcement. U.S. Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians from the 316th Civil Engineer Squadron, based out of Joint Base Andrews, partnered with the Baltimore Police Department Bomb Unit to assess and secure the scene.
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