Sometimes the past literally floats to the surface. Near the village of Pepelishte, in the Negotino municipality, an unexploded 155-millimetre artillery shell weighing about 45 kilograms was found in the bed of the Vardar - a shell that dates back to the First World War. It lay there for more than a century, still dangerous enough today to put the emergency services on their feet.

The Directorate for Protection and Rescue removed it safely, but it was not simple. The terrain was difficult - the ordnance lay in the riverbed itself, reached by a boat provided by the Negotino territorial fire unit. The bomb technician pulled the shell out, after which it was taken to the Krivolak military range for final destruction.

Finds like this are a reminder that the Balkans are literally studded with leftovers from wars that ended long ago - shells, mines and unexploded ordnance that stay silent for decades under earth and water, until someone stumbles onto them by chance. Every summer, as the rivers recede, such surprises come to light.

The Directorate urges citizens not to pick up such objects themselves, but to call 112 at once. Advice that sounds obvious, but which someone ignores every year - because curiosity about "old bits of metal" in the Balkans sometimes costs a hand, or a life. This time it ended well. It does not always.