The Minister of Culture submitted it to the Prime Minister – There is still no response from Maximos

From the closed circuit surveillance images of the old archaeological museum in the center of the city of Olympia, the Security officers hope that they will derive useful information, which will lead them to the tracks of the two hooded men, who early on Friday morning grabbed approx 68 ancient objects.

According to the first information, the two men wearing camouflage uniforms broke into the museum on 7.30 in the morning they immobilized the security guard at gunpoint, who is an employee of the Ministry of Culture, they tied her up – according to the information of the prosecuting authorities – to one of the statues and gagged her. In broken Greek they started asking her to show them where there is a "wreath of gold" and coins. The employee insisted that there are no such objects in the Museum, and then the robbers began to break the display cases around them and grab everything,what were they finding.

According to the police, most of the items were copper and clay, while it seems that between f’ but the perpetrators also took a gold ring – although an accurate picture of the antiquities that have been removed is expected after the autopsy that is currently being carried out by the curators of the Museum is completed.

As the same information states, the police do not know how and in which direction the perpetrators escaped and for this reason they are looking for information throughout the city from people who may have seen them.

He submitted his resignation to the Prime Minister Mr. L. Papademos, the Minister of Culture, Mr. P. Gerulanos. Megaro Maximos has not yet responded.  Meanwhile, a police force left Athens to assist the local department in the search for the perpetrators. The Prosecutor of First Instances of Ilia, Mr. P. Maidanis.

History of the Museum

The thematic Museum of Ancient Olympia is located at the edge of the city (that is, it is not located inside the archaeological site) and is the first Museum to be restored on the occasion of the Athens Olympics 2004 to house the finds from the ancient Olympic Games.

In the showcases and in its premises they are found 463 works from the Sanctuary of Zeus of Ancient Olympia but also objects related to the Olympic Games from other Museums of Greece. The exhibits start from the second millennium BC. and reach up to the 5th century AD. It has clay and bronze figurines of warriors and chariots, various items used by athletes such as discs, dumbbells, sycophants, strands ( copper scrapers for cleaning the body), inscriptions, bronze figurines…

Source : tovima.gr