Melting Dolomite glaciers reveal unexploded first world war munitions, Italian army says

Sweep in Trentino recovers 250 devices after hikers reported sightings this summer

By LineZotpaper AI staff

Published27 October 2026

Read Time3 min

Illustration: Melting Dolomite glaciers reveal unexploded first world war munitions, Italian army says

A cache of unexploded first world war bombs has emerged from rapidly retreating glaciers in the Dolomites this summer, the Italian army has said. The devices, including Italian artillery shells and French mortar bombs, were recovered and defused by the army's Julia Alpine brigade after hikers reported sightings.

The weapons date from the "white war", the campaign fought between the Austro-Hungarian army and Italian troops across treacherous, bitterly cold terrain between 1915 and 1918.

Hikers reported several sightings of bombs during the summer, mostly in the area of Canal San Bovo in the Primiero Valley in eastern Trentino. Soldiers from the Julia Alpine brigade then conducted an extensive sweep there and across other high-altitude and glacier locations in the Trentino Alto Adige region of the Dolomites. They recovered and neutralised 250 explosives, including "18 Italian 75mm artillery shells and 37 Thevetot mortar shells", a French-made device also supplied to the Italian royal army during the war, according to the brigade.

It is not the first time relics of the white war have emerged from melting glaciers, whose retreat has accelerated over more than a decade. Stefano Morosini, a professor at the University of Bergamo and coordinator of heritage projects at Stelvio national park, said the finds were a consequence of global heating. "In recent years, at the end of each summer, these dangerous artefacts emerge and each year there is a higher number," he said. "They have been conserved by the ice for more than 100 years. Some had already exploded but many hadn't, so now when they re-emerge, they are very, very dangerous."

The advice to hikers and mountaineers is to "never touch any type of explosive device you might find, regardless of where it is located" and to promptly report any discovery to police. Morosini said intense summer heat was making access to the glaciers in the Dolomites less safe, noting that 11 people died when a huge mass of the Marmolada glacier broke off in 2022.

The white war, fought mainly in the Dolomites of Trentino Alto-Adige and the Alps of Lombardy, lay frozen in time until the 1990s, when global heating started to reveal preserved relics including weapons, sledges, letters and diaries. A wooden barracks dug into a cave on Mount Scorluzzo, near the Stelvio pass, reappeared in 2015 after the ice that had sealed it for almost a century melted. A white war museum to house the relics is scheduled to open in Bormio in June 2027.

Dozens of corpses, some still in their uniforms, have emerged from the melting ice over the past 15 years. In 2017, documents found with a body on the Presena glacier allowed the relatives of an Italian soldier to bury him. The white war is thought to have claimed more than a million lives, although most soldiers were believed to have been killed by avalanches, falling down mountains or hypothermia.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

Unexploded munitions emerging each summer pose a direct risk to hikers and mountaineers in the Dolomites, and the army says the threat is growing as glaciers retreat.
The melting ice is exposing a century of frozen history, from letters and wooden barracks to soldiers' remains, as climate change reshapes high-altitude landscapes and makes them more dangerous to access.
Italy's alpine regions face an ongoing recovery and disposal effort, with the number of exposed relics rising each year.

Background

The white war was fought between Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops across the high peaks of the Dolomites and Lombardy from 1915 to 1918, in conditions where avalanches, falls and cold killed more soldiers than combat. For decades the ice preserved equipment, letters and bodies. Accelerating glacier retreat since the 1990s, driven by global heating, has gradually exposed these artefacts, and intense summer heatwaves have quickened the process, forcing the army to carry out regular sweeps.

Key Perspectives

Stefano Morosini: The professor and heritage coordinator says the emergence of the munitions "is very much a consequence of global heating", that more dangerous artefacts appear at the end of each summer, and that "very long heatwave at high altitude" is making glaciers increasingly impossible to access in summer. The Julia Alpine brigade: The Italian army unit recovered and defused the devices and advises hikers and mountaineers to never touch any explosive device found anywhere and to promptly report any discovery to police.

What to Watch

Whether next summer's alpine thaw produces another, larger round of exposed munitions and relics, which would signal that the pace of emergence is accelerating.
The planned opening of the white war museum in Bormio in June 2027, which is to house the relics emerging from the ice.
Access safety on the region's glaciers: after the 2022 Marmolada disaster, Morosini warns that intense heat is making high mountain areas harder to reach.

Sources

Melting glaciers in Dolomites reveal cache of first world war munitions · The Guardian

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.

Show each claim

SupportedMelting Dolomite glaciers revealed unexploded First World War munitions, according to the Italian army.World news | The Guardian: “A significant cache of unexploded bombs from the first world war emerged this summer from rapidly retreating glaciers in the Dolomites, the Italian army has said.”
SupportedA sweep in Trentino recovered 250 devices after hikers reported sightings that summer.World news | The Guardian: “hikers reported several sightings of bombs during the summer, mostly in the area of Canal San Bovo in the Primiero Valley in eastern Trentino. The soldiers then conducted an extensive sweep there and across other high-altitude and glacier locations in the Trentino Alto Adige region of the Dolomites. They recovered and neutralised 250 explosives”
SupportedThe devices included Italian artillery shells and French mortar bombs, and the Julia Alpine brigade removed and defused them.World news | The Guardian: “The devices, which included Italian artillery shells and French mortar bombs, were removed and defused by the army’s Julia Alpine brigade, according to a statement.”
SupportedThe weapons came from the white war, fought between Austro-Hungarian and Italian troops from 1915 to 1918.World news | The Guardian: “The weapons originated from the white war, a battle between the Austro-Hungarian army and Italian troops across treacherous and bitterly cold terrain between 1915 and 1918.”
SupportedThe brigade recovered 250 explosives, including 18 Italian 75mm artillery shells and 37 Thevetot mortar shells.World news | The Guardian: “They recovered and neutralised 250 explosives, including “18 Italian 75mm artillery shells and 37 Thevetot mortar shells – a French-made device that was also supplied to the Italian royal army during the first world war”, the Julia Alpine brigade.”
SupportedMorosini said the finds were a consequence of global heating.World news | The Guardian: ““It is very much a consequence of global heating,” said Stefano Morosini, a professor at the University of Bergamo and the coordinator of heritage projects at Stelvio national park”
SupportedMorosini said the dangerous artefacts emerge at the end of each summer and increase in number each year.World news | The Guardian: ““In recent years, at the end of each summer, these dangerous artefacts emerge and each year there is a higher number.”
SupportedMorosini said the ice had preserved the artefacts for more than 100 years and that many unexploded ones were very dangerous.World news | The Guardian: “They have been conserved by the ice for more than 100 years. Some had already exploded but many hadn’t, so now when they re-emerge, they are very, very dangerous.”
SupportedThe advice is never to touch an explosive device found, wherever it is, and to report it promptly to police.World news | The Guardian: “The advice to hikers and mountaineers is to “never touch any type of explosive device you might find, regardless of where it is located” and to promptly report any discovery to police.”
SupportedMorosini said intense summer heat was making access to the Dolomites’ glaciers less safe.World news | The Guardian: “Morosini said the intense summer heat was making access to the glaciers in the Dolomites less safe.”
SupportedEleven people died when a huge mass of the Marmolada glacier broke off in 2022.World news | The Guardian: “Eleven people died when a huge mass of the Marmolada glacier broke off in 2022.”
SupportedThe white war is thought to have claimed more than a million lives, with most soldiers believed to have died from avalanches, falls or hypothermia.World news | The Guardian: “The white war is thought to have claimed more than a million lives, although the majority of soldiers were believed to have been killed by avalanches, falling down mountains or hypothermia.”