The National Museum of Romanian History (MNIR) will present to the public for the first time, on Friday, June 12, three prehistoric gold bracelets recovered by the Romanian authorities following an international investigation that lasted more than five years.
The artefacts will be exhibited as part of the micro-exhibition “Recovering the past. A new case of success regarding Romania’s national cultural heritage – 3 prehistoric gold bracelets”, organized in the “Exhibit of the Month” series.
Recovered after appearing at an auction house in Monaco
According to MNIR, the bracelets were initially identified at an auction house in Monaco and were later seized in Belgium, before being repatriated to Romania in 2024.
The authorities believe that the objects were archaeologically poached and illegally taken out of the country during 2018-2019.
Their recovery involved the cooperation of several Romanian and Belgian institutions, including the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police, the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the Belgian judicial authorities.
Artifacts over 3,000 years old
The three bracelets are made of solid gold and decorated similarly. Specialists date them to the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, around 1150 BC.
The objects were classified in the Treasury category in the first part of 2025 and are now part of the collections of the National History Museum of Romania.
According to the researchers, they represent prestigious goods and may have been part of a votive offering, with a ritual role.
The analyzes carried out so far indicate that the artifacts most likely come from the area of Crișana, in northwestern Romania. Specialists have also identified similarities with archaeological discoveries in northeastern Hungary.
The MNIR points out that the objects provide important information about gold processing, social organization and exchange networks in prehistoric Europe.
The exhibition can be visited until mid-July, from Wednesday to Sunday, between 10.00 and 18.00.
