Perpetrators on Trial: An Update on the Manching Case

Course of Events

22 November 2022 began with shocking news from Germany: The Manching treasure, the largest Celtic gold find of the 20th century, had been stolen. The thieves had broken into the Celtic-Roman Museum in Manching the night before and stolen 483 Boian shell staters and the contents of other display cases. It took them only 9 minutes. One of them had previously gained access to a Telekom distribution box and cut fibre optic cables, which not only left thousands of households without internet and telephone services, but also prevented the museum’s alarm from alerting the police.

A Large-Scale Investigation

While the museum world debated how to protect itself from such crimes, the Bavarian authorities were not about to let this brazen burglary go unpunished. The police immediately set up a twenty-five-man special task force (“SOKO Oppidum”), which left no stone unturned. Various objects linked to the crime, including crowbars, were found around the museum and at the bottom of a nearby pond. Traces of DNA found on them were crucial to the investigation.

A Worst Case Scenario

In July 2023, there was a success: four suspects had been arrested. However, horrible news were announced at the same time. Instead of the treasure, 18 lumps of gold had been found. An initial analysis and a subsequent report by a numismatic expert confirmed that it was more than likely that these lumps consist of the missing coins, which were melted down.

The Trial

The suspects, who have been in custody since 2023, have been on trial in Ingolstadt since January 2025. Prosecutors have charged them with aggravated gang burglary in connection with criminal damage to property and interference with telecommunications equipment.

The suspects are three men from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and one from Berlin, aged between 43 and 51. Their first names are Jörn, Maximilian, Robert and Alexander. Unlike in Berlin and Dresden, there is no clan behind the crime – but a real gang of thieves.

They are not only accused of the burglary in Manching. Over the past 15 years, they are believed to have committed 31 burglaries in Germany and Austria. DNA evidence points to them. Their approach was always the same. Among other things, they repeatedly cut fibre-optic cables and used jammers to disable alarm systems. They usually targeted supermarkets and petrol stations. They got away with it for a long time – until they chose the museum as their target. They probably underestimated the resources that an angered Bavaria would use to put the perpetrators behind bars.

The trial is still in full swing, with another hearing scheduled for today, 13 March. So far, none of the defendants have made any comment on the charges. Although the trial has now moved on from the museum break-in to the investigation into the other crimes, many questions about Manching remain unanswered.

Hope for the Treasure?

A major unanswered question is the whereabouts of the treasure. The 18 gold lumps seized are said to equal around 70 coins. The fate of the remaining 400 or so coins is still unclear. They may already have been melted down or still be hidden somewhere. The defendants have so far remained silent on the matter. A defence lawyer argued that the composition of the gold did not yet prove that the lumps were the remains of the coins. Daniela Olivares quotes him on German news programme BR24: “The composition of gold was very common in Asia Minor at that time. You can find different objects with the same composition.”

The mayor of Manching, Herbert Nerb, and we too hope that some of the treasure can still be found. He is quoted as saying in the same article: “If they tell us where the treasure is and get one or two years less in prison, I’d rather take that deal than not get the treasure. Even if it goes against my principles.”

The trial is scheduled to run until June. A verdict is expected in the summer.