Volunteer divers have made an unusual discovery off the coast of Wellington's Oriental Bay.

An unexploded fuze mechanism from World War II is the third potentially live piece of discarded military ammunition unearthed from the Capital's waters. 

Ghost Diving NZ Founder and President Rob Wilson says the volunteer divers were taken aback by this dangerous discovery.

"We immediately put it in a bucket of water, the bucket was submerged. And from then on, it was a case of- right, no-one's touching that, no one's going anywhere near that."

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