Underwater archaeology news, week of 26 October 2026

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8 stories from the week of 26 October to 1 November 2026, from Portugal, Spain, the rest of Europe, Africa and the Indian Ocean, the Americas, and Asia and the Pacific.

Portugal

  • Arqueólogos localizam naufrágio de 1894 – Açoriano Oriental, 28 October 2026. Archaeologists have located on the Azores seabed the wreck of an Austro-Hungarian barque lost in 1894, described as the first such vessel found in the archipelago. The online teaser of this front-page story does not name the ship, island or team.

Spain

  • Hallan nuevas pistas del pecio italiano hundido hace casi 140 años frente a Marbella – 101TV Málaga (via Europa Press), 25 October 2026. A 15-day campaign by the Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico (Centro de Arqueología Subacuática) and the University of Granada on the Cabopino wreck off Marbella documented up to 34 m of hull, tiles from southern French and Marseille makers and 26 barrels possibly still holding cement; the wreck may be the Italian merchantman Garigliano, lost in a storm in 1887 bound for Buenos Aires, with further dives planned for 2027. Also reported by Euro Weekly News (28 October).

Rest of Europe

  • VIDEO: Centuries-old shipwrecks off Elaphiti Islands reveal Dubrovnik’s past – Croatia Week, 26 October 2026. An international team of underwater archaeologists, divers and students continues work on historic wrecks off Sipan and Kolocep (Elaphiti Islands, near Dubrovnik), notably the Santo Hieronimo, a merchant ship at about 30 m in Sudurad Bay that is the first Dubrovnik Republic merchant vessel to be studied systematically (research ongoing since 2015).
  • Ancient 'rusty treasure' emerges from river with enough iron to forge 500 swords – Fox News, 31 October 2026. More than 500 Iron Age iron bars (over a tonne, c. 3rd-2nd century BC) recovered by gravel workers from an old Danube channel at Deinham, Upper Austria, are interpreted by Peter Trebsche (University of Innsbruck) and Marion Berranger in Antiquity as the cargo of a river boat probably lost in a wreck, though no vessel remains survive.

Africa and the Indian Ocean

  • IPC realiza missão arqueológica na ilha do Sal – Expresso das Ilhas, 24 October 2026. Cape Verde's Instituto do Património Cultural carried out a survey and reconnaissance mission (20-23 October) on the wreck of the Col Blum, sunk in 1848 off Porto de Santa Maria, Sal island, led by archaeologist Jaylson Monteiro with conservator José Lima, as a preliminary characterisation to support future study and protection of the site.

Americas

  • Divers find Maine World War II shipwreck linked to Nazi spy plot – Bangor Daily News, 27 October 2026. The volunteer dive team Nomad Exploration has located the Canadian steamer SS Cornwallis, torpedoed by U-1230 in the Gulf of Maine in December 1944 with the loss of 43 of 48 aboard, at about 120 m (400 ft) after seven years of research; the find was made by side-scan sonar on 11 July 2026 and confirmed by technical dives. Also reported by Military Times and the Central Maine newspapers (27 October).
  • Battle over billions in Abaco treasure – The Tribune (Nassau), 28 October 2026. A US federal judge in North Texas ruled on 21 October that Allen Exploration breached its agreement with Maritime Research & Recovery by failing to share treasure recovered from the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas, lost on the Little Bahama Bank in 1656. The court will supervise the division of the artefacts and may appoint a receiver, while also finding that MRR misused Allen trade secrets.

Asia and Pacific

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