BRUSSELS (AP) – The Dutch authorities arrested three suspects on Wednesday after the theft of an old invaluable golden helmet which is considered a cultural icon of Romania and had been exposed in a small museum in the Netherlands. There was no sign that the complex helmet dating from 2,500 years had been recovered.
The flight of the helmet and three golden bracelets also exposed sent shock waves in the art world, and devastated the Romanian authorities who thought they were lending the articles to a nation where museum security was essential.
Dutch police said in a statement that suspects were questioned and that “more arrests are not excluded”. They did not develop.
This gave a glimmer of hope to the Drent museum, which was criticized, in particular from Romania, for not having applied sufficient security.
“We are expecting new developments with a breath. Recovery without damage would be, for everyone, a next fantastic step. Not only for us, but also for the Romanian population, “the museum said in a press release.
The Cotofensti helmet is one of the most revered national treasures in Romania in Dacia’s civilization. He was exhibited during the last weekend of a six-month-old passage when he was stolen.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis called the artefacts of “exceptional cultural and historical importance” for Romanian heritage and identity, and that their disappearance had “a strong emotional and symbolic impact on society”.
It was a breakage that “even in our most pessimistic dreams, we would not have believed possible,” said the director of the National Museum of the History of Romania, Ernest Oberlander-Tarnoveanu.
Fame of the helmet and the dramatic studded appearance means that it could never be easily sold, which makes thieves fear after gold itself. But the melting would reduce the cultural and historical value of the treasure. Gold amounts to around 85,000 euros ($ 89,000) per kilo, and the helmet should weigh a little less than that.
