Ancient Artifacts Taken from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Historic artifacts and additional items have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, officials say.
The robbery was discovered on the start of the week, when employees apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the interior.
The multiple taken statues were marble creations and dated back to the ancient Roman times, a source informed the media outlet.
Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had launched a probe to identify the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a group of exhibits", and that measures had been taken to improve protection and surveillance.
The director of national security in the Damascus region, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the state-run Sana news agency as saying that authorities were investigating the theft, which he said had focused on several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".
He noted that museum protectors at the facility and other persons were being interrogated.
The cultural institution, which was established in the early twentieth century, holds the most important historical artifacts in Syria.
It contains clay cuneiform tablets dating back to the Bronze Age from Ugarit, where evidence of the earliest linguistic system was uncovered; Greco-Roman period classical statues from Palmyra, among the foremost cultural centres of the classical era; and a ancient Jewish temple that was established at an ancient location.
The institution was compelled to shut in 2012, twelve months after the outbreak of the internal strife. Most of the holdings was removed and kept at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.
It began limited operations in recent years and completely reopened in January 2025, a month after insurgents overthrew President Bashar al-Assad.
All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or significantly impacted during the internal struggle.
The militant faction blew up multiple temples and historical sites at the ancient city, claiming that they were against their beliefs. International authorities condemned the damage as a war crime.
Countless historical objects were also lost or taken from historical locations and cultural institutions.
