Valuable Sculptures Taken from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus
Valuable sculptures and other artefacts have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, sources confirm.
The theft was found on the start of the week, when employees allegedly found that a doorway had been broken from the interior.
The half-dozen taken statues were made of marble and originated to the Roman period, one official stated to the Associated Press.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to identify the "events surrounding the loss of a group of exhibits", and that actions had been implemented to enhance security and observation methods.
The director of national security in Damascus province, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the state-run Sana news agency as saying that security forces were investigating the robbery, which he said had targeted several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".
He noted that museum protectors at the institution and other persons were being interrogated.
The National Museum, which was established in 1919, houses the most important archaeological collection in the country.
It includes ancient inscribed tablets dating back to the 14th Century BC from historical site, where evidence of the oldest known complete alphabet was uncovered; early centuries CE ancient art from Palmyra, among the foremost cultural centres of the ancient world; and a third century synagogue that was built at an ancient location.
The museum was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, twelve months after the beginning of the internal strife. Most of the collection was removed and kept at undisclosed sites to protect them.
It reopened partially in 2018 and returned to normal in January 2025, a month after opposition groups deposed Syria's former leader.
Every one of nationally recognized sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the internal struggle.
The Islamic State group destroyed several ancient buildings and other structures at the archaeological site, stating that they were idolatrous. Unesco denounced the destruction as a atrocity.
Countless artefacts were also lost or looted from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.
