3D maps of Swan River lead maritime archaeologists to unexplored wreck in Perth, Western Australia Detailed 3D maps of the bottom of the Swan River have led maritime archaeologists to a sunken barge right in the heart of Perth that has lain unexplored for about a century.

Patrick Morrison, who is completing a doctorate in archaeology at the University of Western Australia, said the find was made after studying maps of the riverbed released by the state government.

"We had seen … some of the shipwrecks that we knew existed, but we also saw some interesting lumps," Mr Morrison told Nadia Mitsopoulos, on ABC Radio Perth.

"We ended up diving one of those after checking on the sonar, and it was a shipwreck … it could be about 100 years old." (read on)