AMSTERDAM, April 2 (Reuters) – A 2,500-year-old golden helmet and two other ancient Romanian treasures stolen from a museum in the Netherlands have been recovered with the help of information from the suspected thieves, Dutch prosecutors said on Thursday.
The artefacts, from Geto-Dacian communities, were presented at a heavily guarded press conference at the Drents Museum in the northern Dutch city of Assen where they had been on loan. They were stolen when thieves broke into the museum in January last year.
The golden Helmet of Cotofenesti is one of Romania’s most important archaeological objects.
The two gold bracelets recovered date back to 50 B.C. Another bracelet remains missing, lead prosecutor Corien Fahner told reporters.
PART OF THE ROMANIAN NATIONAL IDENTITY
Romania’s Foreign Minister Oana Toiu described the artefacts as being of “inestimable value” for Romanian identity and universal heritage, and said it had been essential to Romania that they were found.
Fahner said the prosecutors were thrilled to have recovered the treasures. She said the months of uncertainty about their whereabouts had been a rollercoaster.
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten praised the police for their determination, and said the theft had been “a massive blow” to Romania.
Security footage shared by Dutch police last year showed three men gaining access to the museum at night, as they used explosives and a crowbar to force a large door.
Three suspects were arrested within days and have been in custody since. They gave the information that led the missing artefacts to being found as part of a deal in relation to their trial, the prosecutor said, without giving more details.
The artefacts belong to the National History Museum in Bucharest and will be returned to Romania as soon as possible.
The Dutch government last year paid 5.7 million euros ($6.6 million) to compensate Romania for the theft.
($1 = 0.8679 euros)
(Reporting by Bart Meijer and Charlotte Van Campenhout; additional reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Barbara Lewis)
