Romania’s Museums Commission greenlights restoration of ancient golden helmet recovered from Drents museum heist

06 August 2026 The National Commission for Museums and Collections has authorized the start of the restoration process for the Coțofenești Helmet, the National Museum of History of Romania (MNIR) announced. The ancient artifact and three Dacian gold bracelets were stolen from the Drents Museum in the Netherlands in early 2025. It was recovered this April, alongside two of the bracelets. MNIR said the restoration process follows a series of analyses to determine the helmet's condition. The preliminary investigation included imaging documentation, followed by a series of non-invasive physicochemical analyses, including microscopy, X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy, EDX, PIXE and metallographic analysis, to assess its materials, structure and state of preservation. The analyses