Dutch authorities on Wednesday arrested three suspects after the theft of a priceless historical golden helmet that’s thought-about a cultural icon of Romania and had been on show in a small museum within the Netherlands. There was no signal that the intricate helmet courting again some 2,500 years had been recovered.
The theft of the helmet and three golden wristbands additionally on show despatched shockwaves by way of the artwork world, and devastated Romanian authorities who thought they have been loaning the gadgets to a nation the place safety for museums was paramount.
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Dutch police mentioned in an announcement that the suspects have been being interrogated and “extra arrests are usually not excluded.” They didn’t elaborate.
This undated picture offered by the Drents Museum exhibits the golden Cotofenesti helmet. (Drents Museum by way of AP)
It gave a glimmer of hope to the Drents Museum, which has come beneath criticism, particularly from Romania, for not making use of enough safety.
“We’re awaiting additional developments with bated breath. The restoration with out injury could be, for all, a unbelievable subsequent step. Not just for us, but additionally for the Romanian inhabitants,” the museum mentioned in an announcement.
The Cotofenesti helmet is one Romania’s most revered nationwide treasures from the Dacia civilization. It was on show on the ultimate weekend of a six-month stint when it was stolen.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis referred to as the artifacts of “distinctive cultural and historic significance” for Romanian heritage and identification, and that their disappearance had “a robust emotional and symbolic influence on society.”
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It was a heist that “even in our most pessimistic goals, we’d not have believed attainable,” mentioned the director of Romania’s Nationwide Historical past Museum, Ernest Oberlander-Tarnoveanu.
The helmet’s fame and dramatic studded look imply it may by no means simply be bought, elevating fears the thieves have been after the gold itself. However melting it might scale back the treasure’s cultural and historic worth. Gold stands at about 85,000 euros ($89,000) per kilo, and the helmet is estimated to weigh barely lower than that.