Valuable Sculptures Stolen from the National Museum in Damascus
Historic sculptures and cultural objects have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, officials say.
The robbery was noticed on the start of the week, when museum workers apparently found that a doorway had been broken from the interior.
The half-dozen missing statues were marble creations and traced back to the Roman period, one official told the news agency.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to identify the "events surrounding the theft of a number of artifacts", and that steps had been enacted to strengthen protection and observation methods.
The director of national security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the official media as stating that security forces were probing the incident, which he said had affected several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".
He continued that guards at the museum and other persons were being questioned.
The cultural institution, which was established in the early twentieth century, houses the primary archaeological collection in Syria.
It features historical records originating to the Bronze Age from Ugarit, where indications of the oldest known complete alphabet was found; 1st and 2nd Century AD Greco-Roman sculptures from historical site, among the foremost cultural centres of the historical period; and a 3rd Century AD religious building that was built at another archaeological site.
The museum was forced to close in the early 2010s, one year after the beginning of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the holdings was evacuated and preserved at secret locations to safeguard them.
It began limited operations in recent years and completely reopened in January 2025, a month after opposition groups overthrew President Bashar al-Assad.
Every one of nationally recognized sites were affected or significantly impacted during the internal struggle.
The Islamic State group destroyed several temples and historical sites at Palmyra, claiming that they were against their beliefs. Unesco censured the destruction as a violation.
Many artefacts were also destroyed or looted from historical locations and collections.
