Underwater archaeology news, week of 2 November 2026

11 stories from the week of 2 to 8 November 2026, from the rest of Europe, the Americas, and Asia and the Pacific.

Rest of Europe

• Podrían haber hallado el ancla más antigua del mundo en un islote noruego – Ecos Diarios, 2 November 2026. Researchers from the Stavanger Maritime Museum and the University Museum of Bergen report a 30 kg grooved stone, possibly one of the oldest known anchors, found about 20 m down among debris from the 5,000-to-9,000-year-old greenstone quarry at Hespriholmen, western Norway. The anchor reading and date are not yet peer-reviewed; Greek Reporter covered the find on 13 October.
• Sword Recovered From Italy’s Lake Mezzano – Archaeology Magazine, 2 November 2026. The Superintendency for Viterbo and Southern Etruria and the Carabinieri Underwater Unit of Rome recovered a bronze sword dated by its design to the 13th century BC, with axes, daggers, spearheads and other objects, from the submerged Bronze Age pile-dwelling site in Lake Mezzano, central Italy. The objects may have been ritual offerings; Finestre sull'Arte also reported the sword.
• CT Scans Crack the Code of a 400-Year-Old Shipwreck Lock – Arkeonews, 4 November 2026. Researchers from Cardiff University and Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales used micro-CT scanning to read the code, ANCE, of a brass combination lock from the Ann Francis, a merchant ship wrecked at Margam Beach near Port Talbot, Wales, in 1583. The lock was recovered by a metal detectorist and is held at the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea.
• Rare Strain of Leprosy Identified in Boat Burial – Archaeology Magazine, 4 November 2026. Kiel University researchers found a rare leprosy pathogen in a man buried in a boat in the fifth century AD at the Fallward burial ground, near the North Sea coast at Cuxhaven, Germany. This is a burial on land, not an underwater find, and is included for its maritime context.
• 10,500-year-old wooden remains in German lake points to submerged prehistoric settlement – HeritageDaily, 6 November 2026. Researchers from the Saxony-Anhalt State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology found worked timbers, stone tools and animal bones about 10,500 years old at roughly 20 m depth in Lake Arendsee, Germany, during spring 2026 investigations. They point to Mesolithic woodworking at the former shoreline, though a permanent settlement is not yet established.
• Roman port and wine production site found on Italy's Adriatic coast – archaeologymag.com, 7 November 2026. The University of Salento's ArcheoSub Group, directed by Rita Auriemma, presented 2026 results from Le Cesine (San Giovanni, Vernole, Lecce province), where work on land and underwater has documented a Roman port, with divers studying the section in the water, and a likely winemaking facility onshore.

Americas

• State grants to funnel over $1M to preserve local history, including an Ohio River shipwreck – WBAA / WFYI Public Media, 3 November 2026. Indiana's Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology announced 12 grants worth more than $1.2 million, among them support for the Alice Dean, a Civil War steamship burned by Confederate raiders in 1863. Charles Beeker of Indiana University's Center of Underwater Science wants to study and preserve the site, which straddles the Indiana-Kentucky border.

Asia and Pacific

• Guinness recognizes wreck off Turkey as world's oldest – Turkish Minute, 4 November 2026. Guinness World Records has recognised the Early Bronze Age wreck near Kekova Island, Antalya, as the oldest known, citing jars and stone anchors dated to 4,400–4,700 years ago, according to the Anadolu agency. The Akdeniz University team led by Hakan Öniz and Ceyda Öztosun first found the site in 2024; this is a new development on the find announced in October.
• China Unveils Five-Year Archaeology Strategy Featuring AI and Deep-Sea Robotics – Arkeonews, 2 November 2026. China's National Cultural Heritage Administration has released its 2026–2030 archaeology plan, which includes deep-sea robotics and subsea excavation tools for historic shipwrecks. It also mentions a National Museum of Maritime Archaeology under construction in Qingdao.
• Newly discovered shipwreck in Taean offers undersea window into medieval Korea – Korea JoongAng Daily, 4 November 2026. Divers from the National Research Institute of Maritime Heritage recovered Goryeo-era celadons and 19th-century Joseon white porcelain near Mado island, off Taean, South Korea. The institute also reports a wreck, Mado No. 6, whose wooden cargo tags point to a grain shipment from South Gyeongsang about 800 years ago.
• Playing Cards Found in Mongol Invasion Shipwreck Off Japan – Archaeology Magazine, 6 November 2026. A joint investigation by Yoshifumi Ikeda of Kokugakuin University and the Matsuura municipal authorities recovered five dice and 29 small koppai gaming pieces from a 13th-century Mongol invasion wreck off Takashima Island, Nagasaki Prefecture. The wreck is probably one of three linked to the 1281 Battle of Koan.