Valuable Artifacts Taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus
Valuable sculptures and other artefacts have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, sources confirm.
The theft was noticed on the start of the week, when staff allegedly found that one of the museum's doors had been broken from the inside.
The multiple missing statues were marble creations and originated to the Roman period, an authority told the news agency.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a number of exhibits", and that actions had been enacted to strengthen security and observation methods.
The head of national security in Damascus province, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the government press as declaring that authorities were investigating the incident, which he said had targeted several "archaeological statues and valuable objects".
He added that security personnel at the facility and other persons were being interrogated.
The National Museum, which was created in 1919, holds the primary cultural treasures in the country.
It includes clay cuneiform tablets originating to the Bronze Age from historical site, where evidence of the most ancient complete alphabet was uncovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD ancient art from the ancient city, among the foremost cultural centres of the ancient world; and a third century religious building that was constructed at Dura Europos.
The facility was had to cease operations in 2012, a year after the beginning of the destructive conflict. The majority of the holdings was evacuated and kept at secret locations to safeguard them.
It reopened partially in 2018 and returned to normal in January 2025, four weeks after insurgents overthrew President Bashar al-Assad.
Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were affected or partly ruined during the civil war.
The Islamic State group demolished numerous religious structures and other structures at the ancient city, asserting that they were against their beliefs. Unesco censured the destruction as a atrocity.
Many cultural items were also lost or taken from historical locations and collections.
