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