Gold artifacts, nearly 3,000 years old, part of a treasure of great material value and priceless historical significance, spent ten years in the hallways of a school in a village, until they were noticed by a specialist who took steps to have them included in the national heritage, says Dr. Vasile Diaconu, a researcher at the Neamt National Museum Complex (northeastern Romania).

The pieces were placed in the school’s display case, which apparently had no windows, after the people who analysed them at the time believed they were made of brass and of recent origin.

Diaconu shared this episode in the context of the events at the Drents Museum in Assen, Netherlands – the theft of the golden helmet from Cotofenesti and some Dacian bracelets, showing that discussing such cases could be of interest to the public.

Archaeologist Vasile Diaconu explained that many of the heritage objects now in Romanian museums were discovered by chance.

One such case occurred in Neamt County, where, half a century ago, a treasure consisting of several ancient and very rare gold vessels was brought to light.

‘The gold vessel deposit was identified in 1965-1966 during agricultural works in the western part of the village of Radeni. Although there was information that eight precious metal vessels, both whole and fragmented, were discovered, only five of these pieces were recovered. Without realising their material and historical value at the time, the intact vessels were taken to the local school and placed in a display case in the hallway, along with common archaeological artifacts. For a decade, they did not attract anyone’s attention and were considered recent items. It wasn’t until 1977 that archaeologist Virgil Mihailescu-Barliba, during a visit to the Radeni school, noticed the precious gold vessels and, realising their importance, took steps for them to be included in the county museum’s heritage,’ Vasile Diaconu told AGERPRES.

Three whole vessels from the Radeni treasure are now part of the collections of the Neamt National Museum Complex, while fragments from two other vessels have been part of the collections of the National History Museum and the National Bank of Romania since the 1970s.

Chronologically, the gold vessel deposit is dated to the 12th – 11th centuries BC, at the boundary between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Diaconu noted that, to date, the only analogies for these vessels are known in Bulgaria, at Valcitran, and in Ukraine, at Krizovlin.

‘Certainly, the spectacular treasure from Radeni belonged to members of the social elite nearly 3,000 years ago, and it is not excluded that it may have been brought from another geographical area,’ said the Neamt archaeologist.

According to him, two gold cups, part of the Radeni treasure, were displayed in the exhibition at the Drents Museum in Assen, where, on January 25, the golden helmet from Cotofenesti, dated to the 5th-4th centuries BC, and three Dacian gold bracelets from Sarmizegetusa Regia were stolen.