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

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grey placeholderRed and white police tape crosses a gate in front of a statue in front of a tree outside the Drents Museum in Assen, NetherlandsEPA

Four ancient gold artefacts were stolen from a Dutch museum in a night raid in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The thieves used explosives to blow their way into the Drents Museum in Assen, which was hosting an exhibition of priceless Roman jewelery made of gold and silver.

They left with three Dacian spiral bracelets and the exhibition’s centerpiece – the strikingly decorated Cotofenesti helmet, which was designed about 2,500 years ago.

The Romanian Ministry of Culture promised to take all possible steps to recover the stolen items, which were on loan to the Dutch Museum from Bucharest.

Drents Museum director Harry Toppin said staff were “deeply shocked” by the robbery, which he said was the largest incident in its 170-year history.

Police were called to the scene after reports of an explosion at 03:45 local time (04:45 GMT) on Saturday.

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

Police are also investigating a burned-out vehicle found on a nearby road, which they suspect may be related to the burglary.

“A likely scenario is that the suspects switched to another vehicle near the fire,” a Dutch police statement said.

No arrests have been made, but authorities suspect multiple individuals were involved. Police contacted global police agency Interpol to assist in the investigation.

grey placeholderGetty Images A strikingly decorated ancient gold helmet, with snake eyesGetty Images

The Cotovinisti helmet, pictured in the Roman Museum of Archaeology, is strikingly decorated with mythical beasts and a pair of eyes

A statement from the museum said that four “archaeological masterpieces” were taken, including the Kotovinisti helmet, dating from around 450 BC, and three ancient royal bracelets.

All four stolen items are of enormous cultural importance to Romania, with the Cotofenesti helmet considered a national treasure.

In the late 1990s, 24 bracelets from the same era were excavated 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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2025-01-26 05:57:00

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