Thieves snatch 2500-year-old gold necklace from French museum

Thieves raided a museum in eastern France in broad daylight Friday, making off with a gold necklace dating back 2,500 years, prosecutors said.

Dijon prosecutor Olivier Caracotch said the thieves smashed a display glass sheltering the celtic-era jewellery at the Chatillon-sur-Seine museum in Burgundy.

Local mayor Jeremie Brigand said there had already been two recent attempted burglaries at the museum before Friday morning’s theft.

Although the museum had tightened its security after the previous two attempted thefts, the thieves were organised, fast and determined enough to carry off the theft, he added.

“The individuals acted in broad daylight to steal the necklace despite the presence of the public, staff and a security detail.”

No one was hurt in Friday’s theft, he said.

The stolen golden necklace, which weighs about half a kilogramme (around a pound), served as both an ornament and a symbol of power among the Celts and Gauls.

It formed part of the Vix treasure collection housed by the museum — the burial hoard of a princess discovered in 1953 in the nearby village of Vix.

Earlier this week in Paris, the Louvre reopened the Apollo Gallery, which was targeted by thieves last October who stole eight items valued at around $100 million dollars.

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