Historic Sculptures Removed from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus
Valuable sculptures and additional items have been taken from Syria's National Museum in the capital, sources confirm.
The burglary was discovered on Monday, when employees reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the inside.
The six missing pieces were marble creations and traced back to the ancient Roman times, an authority told the Associated Press.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to identify the "circumstances surrounding the theft of a number of items", and that steps had been enacted to enhance protection and monitoring systems.
The chief of national security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was quoted by the state-run Sana news agency as declaring that authorities were investigating the incident, which he said had focused on several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".
He continued that security personnel at the facility and other persons were being interrogated.
The National Museum, which was established in the early twentieth century, holds the primary archaeological collection in the country.
It contains ancient inscribed tablets tracing back to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where indications of the most ancient writing system was found; early centuries CE classical statues from historical site, one of the most important ancient sites of the historical period; and a third century Jewish temple that was established at an ancient location.
The facility was compelled to shut in 2012, twelve months after the outbreak of the internal strife. Most of the artifacts was removed and kept at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.
It reopened partially in 2018 and returned to normal in January 2025, four weeks after insurgents removed the Assad regime.
Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were damaged or partly ruined during the civil war.
The Islamic State group demolished multiple ancient buildings and additional edifices at the archaeological site, stating that they were against their beliefs. The cultural organization condemned the damage as a war crime.
Countless artefacts were also damaged or taken from dig sites and cultural institutions.
