Thieves use explosives to steal gold ‘masterpieces’ from Dutch museum

MT HANNACH
2 Min Read
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Red and white EPA police tape runs through a door in front of a statue in front of a tree outside the Drents Museum in Assen, the NetherlandsEPA

Four ancient gold items were stolen from a Dutch museum during a late-night raid in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Thieves used explosives to break into the Drents Museum in Assen, which was hosting an exhibition of priceless Romanian gold and silver jewelry.

They left with three Dacian spiral bracelets and the centerpiece of the exhibition: the remarkably decorated Cotofenesti helmet, made almost 2,500 years ago.

The Romanian Ministry of Culture has promised to take all possible measures to recover the stolen objects, which had been loaned to the Dutch museum in Bucharest.

Drents Museum director Harry Tupan said staff were “intensely shocked” by the burglary, which he said was the biggest incident in its 170-year history.

Police were called to the scene after reports of an explosion at 3:45 a.m. local time (0445 GMT) on Saturday.

Police conducted a forensic investigation and reviewed CCTV footage throughout the day.

Police are also investigating a burning vehicle found on a nearby road, believed to be linked to the burglary.

“A possible scenario would be that the suspects moved to another vehicle near the fire,” a Dutch police statement said.

No arrests have been made, but authorities suspect several people were involved. Police called international police agency Interpol to help with the investigation.

Getty Images A remarkably decorated ancient golden helmet, with eyes and snakesGetty Images

The Cotofenesti helmet, represented in the Romanian Museum of Antiquities, is remarkably decorated with mythological animals and a pair of eyes.

A statement from the museum said four “archaeological masterpieces” were taken, including the Cotofenesti helmet, which dates from around 450 BC, and three ancient Dacian royal bracelets.

The four stolen objects are of great cultural importance to Romania, with the Cotofenesti helmet considered a national treasure.

In the late 1990s, 24 bracelets from the same era were unearthed by treasure hunters and sold abroad.

The Romanian state worked for years to recover them from collectors in Austria, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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