Four of the rarest artefacts were stolen, including the 2,450-year-old golden helmet, from the Drents Museum in Assen, Netherlands. The theft was committed in hours of January 25. The items come from Romania’s National History Museum in Bucharest and were part of an exhibition describing the Dacians, an ancient community that existed in what is now considered Romania before it was conquered by the Romans.
Among the stolen pieces was the Cotofenesti helmet, which is a 450 BCE piece of solid gold head gear. The helmet had been discovered in 1929 by a child but was used to play with it, then later to chicken water. The helmet includes intricate designs and has two big eyes, various mythological beings, and an aristocrat who is holding a dagger. This is believed to be the headdress of an unknown Dacian king or noble. The helmet holds outstanding cultural value. It has been documented historically and even reproduced for a 1960s Romanian film.
Drents Museum director, Harry Tupan, expressed horror over the incidents: “It’s a dark day for the Drents Museum and the National History Museum of Romania.” The major incident has never hit the museum premises before, whose age is almost 170 years.
Footage filmed by the surveillance camera captures a glimpse of three robbers clad under their hoods, who tried opening the door at the museum to explode. According to officials, thieves are suspected to have used explosives in breaking into the museum. The Dutch police have tied the heist with a car fire which occurred a few kilometers from the museum and are collaborated with Interpol in the case. To Sunday, more than 50 tips had been received, but none of the suspects had been identified. Romanian officials say the stolen artefacts value is “incalculable”.
