The gold Helmet of Cotofenesti remains on the loose after being stolen from the Drents Museum.
Police have made three arrests in connection with a weekend robbery at a Dutch museum, where thieves stole four priceless archaeological artifacts, including a 2,500-year-old gold helmet considered a national treasure in Romania.
The suspects used explosives to blast into the Drents Museum in Assen early Saturday morning before making off with the items, which were on loan from Romania’s National History Museum for a traveling exhibition.
The arrests took place in Heerhugowaard, a city in the Netherlands located roughly 114 miles from Assen. Items snatched in the heist have yet to be recovered, police said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The safe return of the stolen artifacts would be a fantastic next step for all involved,” the Drents Museum said in its own statement. “Not only for us, but especially for the Romanian people.”
Police shared the photos and identities of two of the suspects, Douglas Chesley Wendersteyt and Bernhard Zeeman — in hopes, they said, of gathering more information about their movements after the heist and who they have been in contact with. “That information may say something about where the loot is now,” police said.
Police identified the third suspect as a woman, but did not share her identity, and said they are not ruling out additional suspects.
The helmet and four gold royal bracelets were on display as part of an exhibit titled “Dacia – Land of Gold and Silver” that opened in the Netherlands last July and was already scheduled to close on Sunday before the heist happened. It showcased artifacts belonging to the Dacians, who in the 2nd century BCE lived in a vast region of present-day Romania that served as a crossroads for Greeks, Celts, Thracians, Scythians and Persians. Dacian artifacts reflect that blend of cultures.
The remarkably well-preserved Helmet of Cotofenesti, for example, features intricate designs that reveal a fusion of cultural influences. It depicts a range of mythical creatures and eyes crafted to protect the wearer from evil. The stolen headpiece is seen in Romania as priceless for its exceptional artistry and craftsmanship.
“This is more than just a theft, it is a wound to the Romanian community,” said journalist Claudia Marcu, who visited the exhibit earlier this month. “For Romanians, this is like the theft of (Rembrandt painting) ‘The Night Watch’ for the Dutch. It’s devastating.”
The helmet weighs almost 2.2 pounds. Children stumbled upon it 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 later examined the artifact and concluded it had been a stray find from a group of Thracian tribes that lived during the Iron Age.
The spiral bracelets, dating back to around 50 BCE, are part of a collection of 24 wristpieces that come from sacrificial pits within religious area of Sarmizegetusa Regia, the Dacian capital.
One of the Dacian bracelets stolen during Saturday’s theft at the Drents Museum.
Law enforcement tracked down the suspects through detective work, surveillance footage, and tips from the public. A breakthrough came when officers discovered a bag of clothing left behind in Assen. Officials also released photos of the bag, its contents, and the location where it was found.
The brazen theft led Harry Tupan, the Drent museum’s general director, to call Saturday “a black day.”
“In its 170-year existence, such a major incident has never occurred,” Tupan said. “It also causes us great sadness towards our colleagues in Romania.” Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu expressed outrage at the theft.
