Historic Sculptures Taken from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Ancient sculptures and other artefacts have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, sources confirm.
The theft was noticed on Monday, when staff reportedly found that an entrance had been forced from the inside.
The six taken statues were made of marble and traced back to the Roman era, an authority stated to the Associated Press.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to determine the "details surrounding the theft of a group of exhibits", and that steps had been implemented to strengthen safeguarding and monitoring systems.
The director of domestic security in the Damascus region, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the state-run Sana news agency as stating that authorities were investigating the theft, which he said had affected several "historical artifacts and valuable objects".
He noted that guards at the museum and additional people were being interrogated.
The cultural institution, which was founded in 1919, houses the most important archaeological collection in the country.
It contains clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the ancient era from Ugarit, where evidence of the most ancient writing system was discovered; early centuries CE Greco-Roman sculptures from Palmyra, among the foremost cultural centres of the ancient world; and a 3rd Century AD religious building that was established at another archaeological site.
The institution was forced to close in the early 2010s, a year after the outbreak of the devastating civil war. The majority of the holdings was evacuated and kept at secure places to protect them.
It reopened partially in recent years and returned to normal in January 2025, one month after insurgents overthrew President Bashar al-Assad.
All six of nationally recognized sites were harmed or partially destroyed during the internal struggle.
The militant faction demolished numerous temples and additional edifices at the ancient city, asserting that they were against their beliefs. The cultural organization censured the destruction as a violation.
Numerous cultural items were also destroyed or stolen from dig sites and cultural institutions.
