All Stolen in Just 4 Minutes... 3,000-Year-Old Gold Treasure Worth 8 Billion Won Stolen in Spain

66 Bronze Age Artifacts Including 10kg of Gold Stolen
Total Value Estimated at 5 Million Euros Based on Historical Significance

A regional museum in Spain has suffered a major theft of Bronze Age gold artifacts created about 3,000 years ago. According to reports, the thieves diverted the attention of the police and then entered the museum, stealing major artifacts and fleeing the scene in just four minutes.

On the 27th (local time), Spanish news agency EFE and national broadcaster RTVE reported that ancient artifacts known as the "Treasure of Villena" disappeared from the Museum of Villena in Alicante, Spain. The thieves, who were reportedly masked, entered the museum around 5:20 a.m. After failing to enter through the main entrance, they accessed the facility through a side window, according to the investigation.

Just before the crime, an alarm was triggered at a gym located approximately 2 kilometers from the museum. While the police were dispatched to that location, the museum's own alarm also went off. However, by the time officers arrived at the museum, the thieves had already escaped. Investigators are looking into whether the two alarms were connected and whether this was a premeditated crime.

A regional museum in Spain suffered a massive theft of ancient gold artifacts worth approximately 8 billion won. Screenshot from the Vienna Museum website

The stolen "Treasure of Villena" is a collection of Bronze Age artifacts discovered near Villena in 1963. The trove consists of a total of 66 items, including 11 gold bowls, 28 bracelets, and a variety of gold and silver vessels. The total gold content amounts to approximately 10 kilograms, making it one of the most representative goldsmithing sets from the European Bronze Age. The treasures were kept in a safe for a long time and were only recently put on public display at the newly opened Museum of Villena in 2024.

The bulk of the core gold artifacts from the treasure disappeared in the theft. Gold bowls and bracelets were stolen, and it was also reported that certain religious relics displayed at the museum vanished as well. The current market value of the gold alone is estimated at around 1 million euros (approximately 1.6 billion won), while the total valuation reflecting the historical and cultural significance is reported to reach about 5 million euros (approximately 8 billion won).

Evidence indicates that the thieves discarded some items, such as iron bracelets, as they fled. Although these are rare artifacts made from meteoritic iron, the perpetrators apparently left them behind, judging them to be less visually valuable compared to the gold items.

Such rare artifacts are extremely difficult to trade in the legitimate archaeological or art markets due to their clear provenance. For this reason, experts warn that if the stolen items are melted down and sold solely as metal, their value as cultural relics would be lost forever.

Meanwhile, following the incident, the museum has been closed indefinitely.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.