Greek police said on Saturday that all the artifacts which had been stolen from the Ancient Olympia Museum in February have been recovered.

Three Greeks were arrested in connection with the case which had shocked Greece and two more were still at large, according to earlier report.

On Feb. 17 this year, masked perpetrators broke into the museum at the birthplace of the Olympic Games, immobilized a female guard and removed from displays some 70 bronze and clay objects, as well as a gold ring of significant value.

On early Saturday policemen detained at a hotel in the nearby port city of Patras three locals aged 41, 50 and 36 as they were negotiating the sale of the ring, according to a police press release which verified earlier media reports.

The bargaining had started from the sum of 1.5 million euros (1.94 million euros) and had closed at 300,000 euros (389,100 US dollars).

Upon suggestion of the arrested suspects, all the stolen antiquities were found in a bag buried in a rural area in Ancient Olympia. They were later taken to the Museum of Ancient Olympia, where they were registered and verified, police said.

"Today is an extremely important and happy day for the Ministry of Culture and the archeological community," Secretary General of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, Culture and Sports, Lina Mendoni said during a press briefing in Athens.

"Despite the most difficult economic backdrop, we do not compromise security, neither protection of our cultural heritage," Citizen's Protection Minister Nikos Dendias added, praising the arrest of the robbers and the recovery of the artifacts as a great success.

"Amid a wave of negative publicity and reality for Greece and Greek peoples over the past two years, this is a bright moment. These items are part of our history. Since the robbery, we felt as if a part of our heart was missing. Now it is back in place," Maria Panagopoulou, resident of a village near the ancient Stadium of Olympia, told Xinhua in a telephone interview.

The robbery at the Ancient Olympia Museum had shocked Greeks. It was the first time perpetrators had broken into the museum.

In January, robbers who have still not been traced, had stolen a painting by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and other valuable artworks from the National Art Gallery in Athens.

The two incidents increased worries that the debt crisis which has hit Greece hard since 2009, has weakened security measures at museums and archeological sites.