Valuable Artifacts Removed from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Historic statues and additional items have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, officials say.
The theft was noticed on the start of the week, when museum workers reportedly found that an entrance had been damaged from the inside.
The half-dozen missing pieces were marble creations and traced back to the Roman period, a source stated to the news agency.
Cultural heritage officials said it had opened an investigation to determine the "details surrounding the theft of a number of artifacts", and that steps had been taken to improve safeguarding and monitoring systems.
The director of domestic security in Damascus province, Security Chief Atkeh, was quoted by the official media as stating that authorities were examining the robbery, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".
He continued that security personnel at the museum and additional people were being interrogated.
The National Museum, which was founded in 1919, houses the most important cultural treasures in the country.
It contains clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the Bronze Age from Ugarit, where evidence of the most ancient writing system was uncovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD Greco-Roman sculptures from historical site, a significant ancient sites of the classical era; and a third century Jewish temple that was built at an ancient location.
The facility was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, a year after the beginning of the internal strife. Most of the collection was evacuated and kept at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.
It partially resumed in recent years and completely reopened in January 2025, one month after rebel forces deposed Syria's former leader.
Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were affected or partly ruined during the internal struggle.
The Islamic State group blew up several religious structures and historical sites at Palmyra, claiming that they were un-Islamic. Unesco denounced the damage as a war crime.
Numerous artefacts were also destroyed or stolen from historical locations and museums.