Thieves stole the entire treasure found in 1999, the main value of the Celtic-Roman Museum in Bavaria – 483 gold coins dated about 100 BC.
Unknown thieves managed to break into the Celtic-Roman Museum in the city of Manching in Bavaria and stole the most important exhibit from there – 483 gold coins, the value of which is estimated at several million euros, it was said on Tuesday, November 22, a representative of Bavaria’s Land Office for Criminal Affairs, which is investigating.
According to the police, this is the largest gold treasure of Celtic origin found in the 20th century. Coins with a total weight of about 4 kg were discovered in 1999 in the excavations of the so-called Manching oppida, a Celtic fortified city during the Roman Empire.
“The loss of the Celtic treasure is a catastrophe, the gold coins are irreplaceable as evidence of our history,” said Markus Blume, Bavaria’s Minister of State for Science and the Arts, in relation to the incident.
Major thefts at German museums
Excavations at the Manching oppida have attracted the attention of the criminal world before. In May of this year alone, unknown “black archaeologists” made 140 illegal raids on its territory. Experts suggest the attackers were looking for Celtic-era objects with soil probes at a time when real archaeologists had days off. Whether they managed to find something and get it out there remained unknown.
However, thieves more than once managed to take the most important museum exhibit in Germany. In 2019, one billion euros worth of antique works of art and jewelry were stolen from the Green Vault in Dresden, one of Germany’s most famous museums. As of January 2022, six defendants are in the dock, but there is still no information on the whereabouts of the jewels.
In March 2017, a 100 kg gold coin called the Large Maple Leaf with the portrait of British Queen Elizabeth II was stolen from the Bode Museum in Berlin. The value of the coin is estimated at 3.75 million euros. The criminals were caught late, the coin itself was never found.
Source: DW
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.