Thieves use explosives to steal gold 'masterpieces' from Dutch museum

Four ancient gold artefacts were stolen from Drents Museum in Assen.

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Thieves used explosives to blast their way into the Drents Museum in Assen, which was hosting an exhibition of priceless Romanian jewellery made from gold and silver.

They left with three Dacian spiral bracelets and the exhibit's central piece - the strikingly decorated Helmet of Cotofenesti, which was crafted almost 2,500 years ago.

Romania's ministry of culture has promised to take all possible steps to recover the stolen items, which had been loaned to the Dutch museum from Bucharest.

Drents Museum director Harry Tupan said staff were "intensely shocked" by the burglary, which he said was the biggest incident in its 170-year history.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxkpnnlpdvo

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