2,500-year-old gold necklace stolen from French museum

Once again a French museum has fallen victim to an art theft. This time it happened in the museum in the town of Châtillon-sur-Seine. Yesterday, thieves took a 2,500-year-old gold necklace from the Musée du Pays Châtillonnais.

It is a solid gold neck ring that was found more than seventy years ago in a burial mound. The stolen torque weighs 480 grams. Burglars also tried to strike in November and last Saturday, but those attempts failed.

This time they entered through reception in broad daylight. According to the director, they dressed as tourists and were able to get the jewel despite all the security measures. They demolished the display case and fled through the main entrance.

Winged horses The torque is one of the highlights of the Treasure of Vix. In the town of Vix, a burial mound was discovered in 1953 with a chamber containing the body, possibly that of a princess or priestess. It lay in state on a chariot and was adorned with gold jewelry, of which the neck ring was the most eye-catching.

Winged horses are incorporated at both ends. The most important part of Vix's Treasure was not stolen: a huge bronze mixing vessel for mixing water and wine. The colossus is 1.65 meters tall and weighs 208 kilos.

Blow for heritage There were several major museum burglaries in France last year. For example, tens of millions of euros worth of crown jewels were stolen from the Louvre in Paris.