More on Armed Robbery at Ancient Olympia Museum
ArchaeoHeritage, Europe, Greece, Heritage, Southern Europe 12:00 PM
Police said on Tuesday that 77 artefacts - more than than 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 Friday's robbery.
Most of the items on the list released Monday were bronze and pottery figurines, vases and lamps.
It was the second serious museum heist in two months, after works by Pablo Picasso and Piet Mondrian were stolen from the National Gallery in central Athens.
The list of items stolen from Ancient Olympia can be viewed here
Officials ID one of Olympia museum robbers
Police have identified at least one of the two thieves that broke into the archaeological museum at Olympia in the Peloponnese last week, Skai reported on Wednesday.
After examining the seven-minute CCTV footage from the heist, police have reportedly identified one former convict of Albanian origin who is suspected of having taken part in jewelry shop robberies in Olympia and Krestena last year.
Police are scouring the area for evidence but haven’t been able to recover anything leading to the suspects.
Prime Minister Lucas Papademos on Wednesday declined Culture Minister Pavlos Geroulanos’s resignation over the incident.
Sources: Athens News/Kathimerini [February 21/22, 2012]
Two gunmen used a sledge hammer to slash display cabinets after tying up a museum guard in Friday's robbery.
Most of the items on the list released Monday were bronze and pottery figurines, vases and lamps.
It was the second serious museum heist in two months, after works by Pablo Picasso and Piet Mondrian were stolen from the National Gallery in central Athens.
The list of items stolen from Ancient Olympia can be viewed here
Officials ID one of Olympia museum robbers
Police have identified at least one of the two thieves that broke into the archaeological museum at Olympia in the Peloponnese last week, Skai reported on Wednesday.
After examining the seven-minute CCTV footage from the heist, police have reportedly identified one former convict of Albanian origin who is suspected of having taken part in jewelry shop robberies in Olympia and Krestena last year.
Police are scouring the area for evidence but haven’t been able to recover anything leading to the suspects.
Prime Minister Lucas Papademos on Wednesday declined Culture Minister Pavlos Geroulanos’s resignation over the incident.
Sources: Athens News/Kathimerini [February 21/22, 2012]
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Thanks for this. I should re-establish my Google news alerts...
There's an English-language list of the objects here: http://conflictantiquities.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/greece-olympia-museum-stolen-artefacts-descriptions/
And all of the photos with their English-language descriptions here: http://conflictantiquities.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/greece-olympia-museum-stolen-artefacts-photographs/