2,450-year-old golden helmet stolen from a museum in Netherlands
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Assen/ Netherlands: A 2,450-year-old golden helmet is among the four ancient artefacts that thieves have stolen from a museum in Netherlands’ in Assen a couple of days ago.
Thieves broke into Drents Museum in the early hours of January 25 stealing artefacts given to the museum on loan by the National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest.
Artefacts were part of an exhibition about the Dacians, an ancient society lived in today’s Romania before the Romans conquered them.
Drents Museum’s general director, Harry Tupan, said it was a dark day for the museum and the National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest.
‘We are intensely shocked by the events last night at the museum. In its 170-year existence, there has never been such a major incident,’ Harry Tupan added.
One of the pieces that the thieves carried away is the golden hamlet known as the Helmet of Coțofenești, which dates back to roughly 450 BCE.
A child in 1929 in a Romanian village discovered the helmet, which according to The Washington Post, ‘suffered some damage as it was used as a toy and later a water vessel for chickens.’
Weighing around a kilogram, it is dotted with a two large eyes in front and several mythological creatures engraved on it alongside a male figure holding a dagger for sacrificing a ram, according to the report.
Experts determined that it was a helmet belonged to an unknown local Dacian king or a local aristocratic noble.
The helmet, famous in Romania, found its way in several history books and archaeological catalogues.
Its recreated version appeared in the movie ‘The Dacians’ in 1960s, according to reports.
The movie ‘depicted the lead up to a destructive historical war between the Romanian Emperor and the Dacian Kingdom in 86-88 AD,’ the WaPo report said.
Romanian officials called the value of stolen artefacts including the helmet ‘incalculable’ to Romania’s culture.
Footage released by the police showed three hooded suspects trying to open the museum’s door, before an explosion.
Police believe that thieves used explosives to enter the museum.