🔗 Share this article

Valuable artifacts and other artefacts have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, authorities report.

The robbery was noticed on Monday, when museum workers apparently found that an entrance had been damaged from the interior.

The half-dozen taken sculptures were crafted from marble and traced back to the ancient Roman times, one official told the Associated Press.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had opened an investigation to determine the "events surrounding the theft of a number of exhibits", and that actions had been enacted to strengthen security and surveillance.

The head of internal security in the Damascus region, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the government press as stating that security forces were probing the incident, which he said had targeted several "archaeological statues and unique items".

He added that security personnel at the institution and other persons were being interviewed.

The cultural institution, which was created in the early twentieth century, contains the most important archaeological collection in the country.

It features clay cuneiform tablets originating to the ancient era from historical site, where indications of the oldest known writing system was found; Greco-Roman period ancient art from Palmyra, among the foremost cultural centres of the historical period; and a ancient synagogue that was built at an ancient location.

The institution was had to cease operations in 2012, twelve months after the beginning of the internal strife. A large portion of the artifacts was evacuated and preserved at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.

It reopened partially in recent years and resumed full operations in January 2025, a month after rebel forces deposed President Bashar al-Assad.

Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were harmed or partially destroyed during the civil war.

The militant faction destroyed numerous temples and additional edifices at the archaeological site, asserting that they were against their beliefs. Unesco censured the demolition as a war crime.

Countless historical objects were also lost or stolen from historical locations and collections.