Ancient Artifacts Taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus
Valuable artifacts and additional items have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, sources confirm.
The robbery was found on the start of the week, when employees reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the inside.
The six taken statues were marble creations and originated to the Roman era, one official informed the news agency.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to determine the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a collection of exhibits", and that steps had been implemented to improve protection and surveillance.
The director of national security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the official media as declaring that law enforcement were probing the robbery, which he said had focused on several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".
He noted that guards at the facility and other persons were being interrogated.
The Damascus Museum, which was founded in the early twentieth century, holds the primary archaeological collection in Syria.
It includes clay cuneiform tablets dating back to the ancient era from an ancient city, where evidence of the most ancient complete alphabet was found; early centuries CE Greco-Roman sculptures from historical site, one of the most important cultural centres of the historical period; and a 3rd Century AD Jewish temple that was established at another archaeological site.
The museum was forced to close in the early 2010s, twelve months after the start of the devastating civil war. A large portion of the collection was transferred and kept at secret locations to ensure their safety.
It began limited operations in 2018 and completely reopened in January 2025, four weeks after rebel forces removed the Assad regime.
Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were harmed or significantly impacted during the internal struggle.
The IS organization destroyed several temples and historical sites at Palmyra, asserting that they were idolatrous. The cultural organization censured the destruction as a war crime.
Numerous cultural items were also lost or looted from archaeological sites and collections.
