🔗 Share this article

Valuable artifacts and additional items have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, officials say.

The theft was noticed on the start of the week, when museum workers apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been broken from the interior.

The multiple missing statues were crafted from marble and dated back to the Roman era, an authority informed the news agency.

Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had opened an investigation to determine the "circumstances surrounding the theft of a number of items", and that steps had been taken to improve protection and surveillance.

The chief of internal security in Damascus province, Security Chief Atkeh, was referenced by the government press as saying that security forces were investigating the incident, which he said had focused on several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles".

He added that museum protectors at the facility and other individuals were being interrogated.

The Damascus Museum, which was founded in 1919, holds the significant archaeological collection in Syria.

It includes ancient inscribed tablets originating to the ancient era from historical site, where evidence of the most ancient writing system was found; early centuries CE ancient art from the ancient city, among the foremost ancient sites of the ancient world; and a ancient Jewish temple that was established at an ancient location.

The institution was forced to close in the early 2010s, one year after the start of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the artifacts was evacuated and preserved at undisclosed sites to ensure their safety.

It reopened partially in 2018 and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, a month after opposition groups overthrew the Assad regime.

Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were damaged or partly ruined during the internal struggle.

The Islamic State group demolished numerous ancient buildings and historical sites at the archaeological site, asserting that they were un-Islamic. Unesco censured the damage as a violation.

Numerous cultural items were also damaged or stolen from historical locations and museums.