Priceless Dacian helmet resurfaces after explosive museum theft

A priceless ancient golden helmet belonging to Romania that was stolen from a Dutch museum last year has been recovered.

Dutch prosecutors announced the find during a news conference in the eastern Dutch city of Assen this week, from where the artefact was stolen, Dutch media reports.

The 2,500-year-old Cotofenesti helmet, one of Romania’s most revered national treasures from the Dacia civilisation, was on display at the Drents Museum for a six-month-long exhibition. It was stolen in January 2025 during the last weekend of the temporary display, along with three golden wristbands.

There were fears the helmet may have been melted down because its fame and dramatic studded appearance made it virtually unsellable, but it was recovered as a whole.

“The helmet is slightly dented, but there will be no permanent damage,” Drents Museum director Robert van Langh said during the news conference.

Two of the three stolen wristbands have also been recovered, which are in "perfect condition."

Authorities have pledged to continue their search for the last remaining piece.

Grainy security video distributed by police after the raid appeared to show three people opening a museum door with a large crowbar, followed by an explosion. Dutch police discovered that the thieves used a homemade firework bomb and sledgehammer to break into the museum.

The theft put a strain on relations between the Netherlands and Romania, with the Eastern European country's Justice Minister Radu Marinescu last year calling the incident a “crime against our state." He urged back then that recovering the artefacts “is an absolute priority.”

By Nazrin Sadigova