Police believe Villena treasure has already been melted down

The Villena treasure: 15 kilos of gold melted down and 1.8 million on the black market

Police believe the Villena Treasure, one of the most important Bronze Age gold collections in Europe, no longer exists as such. Officers investigating the theft at the Villena Museum (MUVI) in Spain believe the thieves melted the pieces down to sell the gold as ingots. A simple calculation based on the declared weight of the treasure - around 15 kilos of 24-carat gold - and the current price of the metal puts the value of the melted gold at around 1.8 million euros.

The value of gold versus historical value

The pieces of the treasure are priceless from a historical and archaeological point of view, but the thieves were not going to sell them to museums or collectors. The police hypothesis suggests they were after the raw gold. A quick look at current gold prices (120-124 euros per gram) yields an amount close to 1.8 million euros. A figure that, while substantial, pales in comparison to the heritage value of the objects, which are unique in European archaeology.

Reactions and criticism

The news has sparked a flood of criticism. Some point to the negligence of the authorities in protecting heritage, recalling that the treasure remained at the National Archaeological Museum for years before being moved to Villena. Others point to the museum's lack of security or to local political corruption. Comparisons with other plunderings of Spanish heritage, such as the numismatic collection that ended up in Mexico, are inevitable. In any case, the possibility of recovering the pieces is fading. The only hope is that the thieves kept some replicas, which seems unlikely.

The analysis lingers on the uncertainty. Where is the gold? Who has bought it? Meanwhile, the Villena treasure, which survived thousands of years, has disappeared in a matter of days, turned into ingots already circulating on the black market.