Much is in the form of intricately carved jewellery, or ornaments that families have handed down from generation to generation.

ECONOMIST: Golden fleece?

Items stolen included ornaments, paintings, jewellery from Cartier and Tiffanys and a pair of silver pheasants.

BBC: Sarah Hallcup

The glittering burial hoard from Mycenae gold cups, jewellery, bronze swords with gold-plated hilts and hundreds of ornaments is still a crowd-puller at the Athens archaeological museum.

ECONOMIST: Ancient Greece