All posts tagged: Priceless

A Priceless Golden Helmet, Heisted from a Dutch Museum, Is Recovered

A Priceless Golden Helmet, Heisted from a Dutch Museum, Is Recovered

Published by José Betancourt

Romanian culturati and historians, as well as Dutch museum officials, were shocked in January 2025 when thieves blew up a wall at a Netherlands museum to get at one of the great treasures of the National Museum of Romanian History: the golden Cotofenesti helmet, which dates to the 5th–4th centuries BCE. The thieves were seen on surveillance video opening a museum door with a crowbar before an explosion occurred.  But at a press conference in Assen on Thursday, police wearing balaclavas revealed that the helmet was returned, along with two of three golden bracelets dating to the second half of the first century BCE that were also stolen. Related Articles The treasured Cotofenesti helmet dates back about 2,500 years, and originated with the Dacia people. It was on view at the Drents Museum, in the Dutch city of Assen, in the show “Dacia: Kingdom of Gold and Silver.” “We are incredibly pleased,” Corien Fahner of the prosecution service told reporters, according to ABC News. “It has been a roller coaster. Especially for Romania, but also …

Forgotten, priceless medieval book found in school library

Forgotten, priceless medieval book found in school library

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. For generations, a misidentified medieval manuscript was hidden in a 474-year-old English boarding school’s library. After a careful new analysis, a medieval literature researcher can confirm the manuscript is actually the oldest and only known edition of Richard Rolle’s The Emending of Life (Emendatio vitae) written in its original Latin. Who is Richard Rolle? Most people today may not be familiar with Richard Rolle, but he was almost certainly the Late Medieval Era’s most widely read author. One of a handful of writers known as the Middle English Mystics, Rolle was born sometime around 1300 CE in Yorkshire, England, and spent the majority of his adult life as a hermit until his death in 1349, possibly due to the Black Death.  To give a sense of Rolle’s popularity: over 650 surviving manuscripts contain his writings today. Compare that to around 144 similar archival pieces from Chaucer. His last work in English, The Form of Living, was his most popular …

Bayeux Tapestry: Priceless artefact to be insured for £800m | UK News

Bayeux Tapestry: Priceless artefact to be insured for £800m | UK News

Published by Daniella Wilson

The Bayeux Tapestry will be insured for around £800m when it comes to the UK next year. The Treasury will back the cover for the priceless artefact under the Government Indemnity Scheme – an alternative to commercial insurance that allows art and cultural objects to be shown in the UK. Indirectly backed by the British taxpayer, the indemnity will cover it for damage or loss during its transfer from France and while it is on display. The 70m fabric depiction of the 1066 Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings is not far off 1,000 years old. It depicts the battle which saw William the Conqueror take the English throne from Harold Godwinson and become the first Norman king of England. It’s understood the tapestry will be displayed behind a protective screen while on show. In Normandy, it’s been displayed behind a bespoke glass case. Image: The tapestry displayed behind a bespoke glass case in Normandy. Pic: AP The Financial Times reported the Treasury had provisionally approved an estimated valuation of around £800m for the tapestry. …