Thieves Blast Open Dutch Museum Door, Steal Archaeological Treasures

Thieves blasted their way into a Dutch museum using explosives early Saturday morning, making off with four items the museum calls archaeological masterpieces.

Items taken from the ​Drents Museum include an elaborately decorated 2,500-year-old solid gold helmet and four royal gold bracelets from around 50 BCE. The items were on loan from the National History Museum in Romania for an exhibit titled “Dacia – Land of Gold and Silver” that opened last July.

In the 2nd century BCE, the Dacians inhabited a large part of Dacia, located in present-day Romania in a spot near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea where a number of Greeks, Celts, Thracians, Scythians and Persians intersected. That cultural melange is reflected in Dacian objects. The exhibit, which was already scheduled to close on Sunday before the break-in, included more than 50 gold and silver treasures, focusing largely on the period Romans conquered Dacia the year 106.

“This is a black day for the Drents Museum in Assen and the National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest,” Harry Tupan, the Drent Museum’s g​eneral director, said of the theft in a statement. “We are deeply shocked by the events last night in the museum. In its 170-year existence, such a major incident has never occurred. It also causes us great sadness towards our colleagues in Romania.”

Of the four pieces stolen, the gold headpiece, known as the Helmet of Cotofenesti, is considered particularly invaluable for its exceptional artistry and craftsmanship. The helmet — which is well preserved, save for a missing part of the skull cap — features intricate designs that reflect various cultural influences. It depicts a range of mythical creatures, and on either cheek piece, an illustration of a ram being sacrificed by a man who kneels on the animal’s back, appearing poised to slit its throat with a short knife. The eyes were designed to protect the wearer from the “evil eye.”

The helmet, considered a national treasure in Romania, weighs almost 2.2 pounds. Children discovered it by chance in the late 1920s while playing on a hillside in the village of Poiana Cotofenesti, now Varbilau, after rains washed away the soil underneath the object. Archaeologists who examined it concluded it had been a stray find.

The stolen gold bracelets, which would have been worn on the upper arm, according to the museum, all come from the Dacian capital Sarmizegetusa Regia. They are part of a collection of 24 wristpieces that come from sacrificial pits in the religious part of the city.

Dutch police received a report of an explosion at around 3:45 a.m. on Saturday morning. The blast damaged the museum in the northeastern Netherlands, though no one was injured. Police are currently investigating the crime, and have enlisted the aid of Interpol, and in an update on the burglary, expect there to be multiple suspects, though no arrests have been made yet.

“The police are focusing on tracking down both the suspects and the stolen masterpieces,” the statement said.

On Saturday, Dutch police released grainy security footage showing at least three hooded individuals pulling at the museum’s door before an explosion and sparks can be seen. Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said in a translated Facebook post that the invaluable stolen pieces must be recovered and returned to Romania as soon as possible.

He also said he organized a crisis team consisting of Romanian police and representatives of the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to aid in the effort.