World IN BRIEF : ITALY : Priceless Artifacts at Herculaneum Stolen

Armed robbers stole at least 200 ancient Roman gold artifacts from a storehouse in the excavation site at Herculaneum, a popular tourist center. Police said two robbers climbed over the gates, tied up six guards and with the help of other robbers they let into the site, escaped with sacks full of gold bracelets, earrings and other trinkets dating from the 1st Century. Herculaneum, along with Pompeii, nine miles south of Naples, was an ancient Roman city engulfed by ashes and debris from an eruption of the Vesuvius volcano in AD 79. Museum officials said the stolen artifacts are irreplaceable and therefore priceless, but would be difficult to sell.