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Olympia theft worse than feared

Police said this week that 77 artefacts - more than what was initially estimated - were snatched in last week's armed robbery at Ancient Olympia

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Olympia theft worse than feared
23 Feb 2012

Police said this week that 77 artefacts - more than what was initially estimated - were snatched in last week's armed robbery at Ancient Olympia, raising concerns that drastic spending cuts have left dozens of museums poorly protected.

Two gunmen used a sledge hammer to slash display cabinets after tying up a museum guard in last Friday's robbery.

"They overwhelmed and gagged the woman who guarded the building," a police official said hours after the robbery. The value of the objects stolen has not been estimated yet. Most of the items were bronze and pottery figurines, vases and lamps.

In January, three works of art, including one by Pablo Picasso and another by Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, were stolen from the country's National Gallery in the capital, Athens. Greece has seen a rise in crime as its debt-laden economy has shrunk 16 per cent in size from its 2008 peak, leading to youth unemployment of just under 50 per cent.

Source: Reuters

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Comments

Stealing our national treasures, the artefacts of our history, is the act of traitors. As if they betrayed the nation to an enemy. I am disgusted that any one would commit such crimes and there is no excuse. They should be hunted down like dogs AND anyone who is found to have traded in such items should be treated with equal contempt.
Submitted by atkenos on Thu, 2012-02-23 21:55.

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