🔗 Share this article

Historic statues and cultural objects have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, officials say.

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

The half-dozen stolen statues were marble creations and traced back to the ancient Roman times, one official stated to the media outlet.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to determine the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a number of exhibits", and that actions had been taken to improve protection and monitoring systems.

The chief of domestic security in the capital area, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the state-run Sana news agency as declaring that security forces were investigating the robbery, which he said had affected several "historical artifacts and unique items".

He continued that guards at the museum and other individuals were being questioned.

The Damascus Museum, which was founded in the early twentieth century, contains the significant historical artifacts in Syria.

It features historical records tracing back to the Bronze Age from historical site, where evidence of the oldest known writing system was found; 1st and 2nd Century AD classical statues from the ancient city, among the foremost historical locations of the historical period; and a third century Jewish temple that was built at another archaeological site.

The museum was had to cease operations in 2012, a year after the outbreak of the internal strife. The majority of the holdings was evacuated and kept at undisclosed sites to protect them.

It reopened partially in 2018 and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, one month after insurgents deposed Syria's former leader.

Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were affected or partially destroyed during the conflict.

The Islamic State group blew up numerous temples and other structures at the archaeological site, stating that they were un-Islamic. International authorities condemned the demolition as a atrocity.

Many cultural items were also destroyed or stolen from archaeological sites and museums.