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

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

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

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

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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.

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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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