Brendan Ward
4.3K posts
@IrlAmbBucharest
Ambassador of Ireland to Romania, Moldova and North Macedonia. Views strictly personal. A retweet is not an endorsement.
The Golden Helmet of Cotofenesti and the Dacian bracelets, treasures from Romania’s heritage, dating back 2,500 years, are returning home. I spoke with Tom Berendsen, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, about the joy of this extraordinary news after more than a year of searches and the combined efforts of our countries. It is so important not to give up when something is so valuable to multiple generations. We exchanged congratulations for the teams of professionals who collaborated on the investigation and for the constant communication between authorities through the ministries of foreign affairs and internal affairs. It was essential that the Dutch authorities understood that recovering these treasures was absolutely necessary for us, even though the insurance had already been transferred to the Romanian state. This has always been about the invaluable significance of the treasure for our identity, for universal heritage, but also about the trust in the international exhibition circuit. The Golden Helmet of Cotofenesti and the bracelets were part of the exhibition “Dacia – The Land of Gold and Silver,” displayed last year at the Drents Museum in Assen. They will soon be exhibited again to the general public at home, in Romania, where we look forward to celebrating their recovery. The next steps involve finalizing essential aspects regarding the recovery of all four artifacts, assessing their state of preservation, and establishing the timetable for their return to the Romanian state, with a view to reintegrating them into the heritage of the National Museum of Romanian History. As a result of activating international insurance and compensation mechanisms, Romania has received the amount of €5.85 million, funds that will be returned after the condition of the artifacts is determined through a specialised technical expertise. The updates we received throughout the day regarding their integrity are positive, and we hope they will be seen again as soon as possible, at home, by all those who experienced the emotional period when we feared they had been lost. The legal process continues in Assen so that those responsible are held accountable, but the joy of recovering these treasure objects is already complete. @ministerBZ
