Thieves steal Bronze Age artifacts from Spanish museum in four-minute heist
Thieves executed a highly professional four-minute heist at the Villena Museum in Spain, stealing a significant portion of a priceless Bronze Age gold collection. Local authorities are devastated by the loss of the historic treasure, which dates back to 1,000 BC.
Why it matters
The theft represents a major loss of European cultural heritage and highlights vulnerabilities in museum security against sophisticated criminal operations.
Image source, MUVI Villena Museum Image caption, Gold rings dating back to the Bronze Age were stolen from the Villena Museum
Thieves have stolen jewellery and artifacts from one of the most important prehistoric gold collections at a museum in the Spanish province of Alicante.
The Treasure of Villena is a unique trove of almost ten kilos of gold, bowls, bottles and bracelets dating back to the Bronze Age.
Police are still assessing exactly how many items were stolen in the raid, which took place in the early hours of Friday morning. The museum confirmed to the BBC that rings, bowls and bracelets were among the items seized.
It is the latest high profile heist on a European museum. Last year, thieves staged a brazen robbery at the Louvre in Paris in broad daylight.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in