This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, use the Reprints tool at the top of any article or visit: www.reutersreprints.com.
Gilded horns stolen in Denmark, copies of 5th century
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A pair of gilded horns stolen from a Danish museum early on Monday were copies of two 5th century solid gold horns stolen 205 years ago and melted down despite being national treasures.
The reproductions of the Golden Horns of Gallehus were made in the mid-19th century and were on loan to the Kongernes Jelling museum in south Jutland, the Danish National Museum said. Police were looking for two cars seen near the museum.
The original horns were solid gold and were covered with soldered figures and carvings of beasts believed to be from Celtic mythology.
They were unearthed in Gallehus in Jutland in the 17th and 18th centuries, and were stolen in 1802 by Niels Heidenreich, an indebted watchmaker and goldsmith.
Heidenreich melted them down to make shoe buckles and other trinkets, but later admitted the crime and spent nearly 40 years in prison.
© Thomson Reuters . All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world.
Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, use the Reprints tool at the top of any article or visit: www.reutersreprints.com.
