Mihaela Simion, interim deputy director of the National Museum of History of Romania, declared on Friday that the institution's specialists are the first interested and the most able to verify the authenticity of the Cotofenesti Helmet and the two Dacian bracelets recovered after last year's theft from the Drents Museum.
"Things are as follows and I want to make it very clear. All these artifacts and not only them, but everything we have in the National Museum of History of Romania, but especially these assets of extraordinary value, have an authentication and analysis file behind them. All these pieces have been subjected to sets of comparative and interdisciplinary analyses so that at this level the issue of a false time deception can no longer be raised. (...) We assure you that we are the first interested and able to ascertain the authentication of these artifacts. But, at the same time, and for all public opinion, it must be mentioned that on the scale of international procedures and on the scale of soft power exchanges, there are no such fears and there are no such incidents," said the museographer, in a press conference held at the National Library of Romania.
She emphasized that MNIR "has a body of exceptional experts, who, without question, will bring to the public's attention, when they arrive (editor's note - the mentioned artifacts), absolutely all the details."
The Minister of Culture, Demeter Andras, stated that the museum's specialists "have already contacted those from Drents".
"Anytime, starting today, our specialists are ready to go and do this evaluation on both components. Of authenticity - and they know all the signs to look for, signs from antiquity or other signs that are only known to them for this extremely precise authentication, but on the second component, to see what damage the respective artifacts have suffered," said Demeter Andras.
The minister stressed that "there are no reasons for concern" regarding the authenticity of the Romanian artifacts recovered from the Netherlands, noting that the director of the Drents Museum, "one of the remarkable personalities, professionally speaking, of the Netherlands and beyond", saw the pieces immediately after the recovery and confirmed that they were the ones exhibited before the theft.
"So, at the moment, even if the actual expertise is still taking time, my answer to those who ask such questions is that there is no reason for concern or, in any case, there is no reason to turn this concern into hysteria," Demeter Andras also said.
Stan Rares-Petru and Daniela Buruiană, representatives of the Romanian Prosecutor's Office, took over the artifacts from Chief Prosecutor Corien Fahner, from the Prosecutor's Office of North Holland, on Thursday afternoon. The event took place in the Old Council Chamber, part of the Drents Museum in the province of Drenthe, in Assen, under heightened security, with security officers stationed not only at the entrance, but also near the pedestal where the artifacts were exhibited.
"We are extremely pleased with the return of these exceptional art treasures. It has been a true adventure full of adventures. Especially for Romania, but also for the staff of the Drents Museum," said prosecutor Corien Fahner at the event, held in the presence of the press. "Of course, we will continue to search for the still missing Dacian bracelet," she added.
Romanian artifacts of inestimable value, almost 2,500 years old, were stolen from the Drents Museum on the night of January 24 to 25, 2025. The archaeological masterpieces were handed over to the North Holland Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday, following the intervention of the defense.
The trial of the three main suspects in this case is set to begin on April 14, 2026.
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