Ancient Artifacts Stolen from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus
Valuable artifacts and other artefacts have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, sources confirm.
The robbery was discovered on the start of the week, when museum workers reportedly found that a doorway had been broken from the interior.
The six taken pieces were marble creations and originated to the Roman era, an authority informed the Associated Press.
Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had launched a probe to determine the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a group of artifacts", and that steps had been taken to improve safeguarding and monitoring systems.
The director of domestic security in the Damascus region, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the state-run Sana news agency as declaring that security forces were probing the incident, which he said had targeted several "ancient sculptures and unique items".
He continued that guards at the institution and additional people were being interrogated.
The Damascus Museum, which was founded in the early twentieth century, holds the significant cultural treasures in Syria.
It includes clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the ancient era from an ancient city, where proof of the earliest complete alphabet was found; 1st and 2nd Century AD Greco-Roman sculptures from Palmyra, a significant ancient sites of the classical era; and a third century religious building that was built at another archaeological site.
The facility was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, a year after the beginning of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the collection was evacuated and preserved at secret locations to ensure their safety.
It began limited operations in recent years and resumed full operations in January 2025, four weeks after insurgents deposed Syria's former leader.
All six of the country's cultural landmarks were harmed or partly ruined during the civil war.
The Islamic State group demolished several temples and other structures at Palmyra, claiming that they were idolatrous. International authorities censured the demolition as a atrocity.
Countless cultural items were also lost or looted from archaeological sites and collections.
