Olympic artifacts stolen

Armed robbers have stolen dozens of bronze and pottery artifacts from a museum at Olympia in southern Greece.

Police in the town, which is the birthplace of the Olympic Games, said the armed men had overpowered a security guard before making off with around 70 ancient objects.

"There were two of them and they had a gun," the town's mayor told a local radio station. "They immobilized the guard as the shift changed at 7 am (local time), having previously taken out the alarm."

Mayor Thymios Kotzias described the artifacts as being of "incalculable value."

The thieves hit the town's second museum, which showcases almost 500 objects related to the Olympic Games. Security is said to be tighter at Olympia's main museum.

Following the theft, Greece's culture minister, Pavlos Geroulanos, offered his resignation. It wasn't immediately clear whether this had been accepted by Prime Minister Lucas Papademos.

This was the second major museum robbery to hit the country this year. Last month, three paintings, including a Picasso, were stolen from the National Gallery in Athens.

Following that burglary, some culture ministry officials said budget cuts had damaged security arrangements at the gallery.

The Greek government has been forced to implement extensive austerity measures in a bid to get to grips with its crippling debt and to meet the conditions set out for it to receive a second international bailout worth 130 billion euros ($171 billion).

pfd/ncy (Reuters, AFP)