Ancient Sculptures Stolen from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Ancient statues and cultural objects have been removed from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, sources confirm.
The robbery was found on Monday, when employees reportedly found that an entrance had been broken from the inside.
The six stolen statues were made of marble and originated to the Roman era, an authority told the news agency.
Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to identify the "events surrounding the theft of a number of items", and that measures had been enacted to improve protection and observation methods.
The director of internal security in the Damascus region, General Osama Atkeh, was cited by the official media as declaring that security forces were probing the incident, which he said had focused on several "historical artifacts and unique items".
He added that guards at the facility and additional people were being questioned.
The National Museum, which was created in the early twentieth century, houses the significant cultural treasures in the country.
It includes ancient inscribed tablets tracing back to the ancient era from an ancient city, where indications of the earliest complete alphabet was uncovered; Greco-Roman period Greco-Roman sculptures from the ancient city, a significant ancient sites of the classical era; and a ancient Jewish temple that was established at an ancient location.
The institution was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, twelve months after the beginning of the internal strife. Most of the collection was removed and preserved at secure places to ensure their safety.
It began limited operations in 2018 and completely reopened in January 2025, one month after opposition groups removed President Bashar al-Assad.
All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were affected or partially destroyed during the internal struggle.
The IS organization blew up numerous ancient buildings and additional edifices at the archaeological site, claiming that they were un-Islamic. Unesco denounced the destruction as a atrocity.
Many historical objects were also lost or looted from archaeological sites and museums.
