Essen, Netherlands – A priceless ancient golden helmet from Romania that was stolen from a Netherlands museum last year has been recovered, Dutch authorities announced Thursday.
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Under the protection of heavily armed, balaclava-clad police, prosecutors unveiled the 2,500-year-old Kotofenesti helmet, one of Romania’s most coveted national treasures from the Dacian civilization, during a news conference in the eastern Dutch city of Assen.
“We are incredibly pleased,” Korean Fanner of the prosecution service told reporters. “It’s been a roller-coaster. Especially for Romania, but also for the staff of the Drents Museum.”
The helmet was on display in the small museum on the last weekend of the six-month-long exhibition in January 2025, when thieves broke into it, along with three golden bands, and took it.
There were fears that the helmet would be melted down as its fame and dramatic appearance made it almost unsellable.
Two of the three missing armbands were also recovered as part of a deal struck by prosecutors with three men arrested shortly after the robbery. His trial will begin later in April.
Fahner said the search for the remaining armbands would continue.
The helmet was not returned safely.
“The helmet is slightly scratched, but there will be no permanent damage,” Robert Van Lange, director of the Drents Museum, said during a news conference. “The armbands are in perfect condition.”
Thieves used homemade firework bombs and a sledgehammer to break into the museum. Grainy security video distributed by police after the raid showed three men opening a museum door with a large crowbar, followed by an explosion.
The theft strained relations between the Netherlands and Romania.
Romanian Justice Minister Radu Marinescu last year called the incident a “crime against our state” and said recovering the artifacts “is an absolute priority.”
