Valuable Sculptures Removed from the National Museum in Damascus
Ancient artifacts and additional items have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, sources confirm.
The burglary was noticed on the start of the week, when museum workers apparently found that a doorway had been broken from the inside.
The half-dozen stolen pieces were made of marble and traced back to the Roman era, one official informed the news agency.
Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had launched a probe to determine the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a collection of items", and that actions had been implemented to strengthen protection and monitoring systems.
The director of domestic security in the capital area, Security Chief Atkeh, was quoted by the government press as saying that security forces were examining the theft, which he said had targeted several "archaeological statues and valuable objects".
He added that security personnel at the institution and additional people were being questioned.
The cultural institution, which was established in 1919, houses the primary cultural treasures in the country.
It contains historical records dating back to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where indications of the oldest known complete alphabet was discovered; Greco-Roman period classical statues from historical site, among the foremost cultural centres of the ancient world; and a third century synagogue that was constructed at another archaeological site.
The museum was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, one year after the start of the devastating civil war. The majority of the artifacts was evacuated and kept at secret locations to safeguard them.
It reopened partially in 2018 and resumed full operations in early this year, one month after opposition groups deposed President Bashar al-Assad.
Every one of nationally recognized sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the conflict.
The IS organization destroyed several ancient buildings and historical sites at the archaeological site, claiming that they were un-Islamic. The cultural organization denounced the damage as a violation.
Countless cultural items were also destroyed or looted from archaeological sites and collections.