Thieves on Thursday raided the Treasure of Villena -- one of the greatest bronze age gold collections -- in the latest high profile heist on a European museum, officials said.
A spokesman for the council in the Valencian town of Villena said it was not immediately known how many of the 50-plus mainly gold objects in the collection were taken as police were still making an inventory.
The raid lasted just minutes. "The alarm at the Villena Museum went off around 5:20 am," said the spokesman, adding that by 5:24 am the thieves had already left the building.
The operation was "super-fast and super-professional", the spokesman said.
The 29 bracelets, 11 bowls, three bottles, and other miscellaneous pieces in the Treasure of Villena are kept in a small museum in the Alicante province town.
