Ancient Artifacts Stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus

Valuable statues and other artefacts have been removed from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, authorities report.

The burglary was discovered on Monday, when staff apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the interior.

The multiple taken pieces were made of marble and traced back to the ancient Roman times, an authority stated to the media outlet.

Cultural heritage officials said it had opened an investigation to determine the "circumstances surrounding the loss of a number of artifacts", and that measures had been implemented to strengthen safeguarding and observation methods.

The chief of national security in the Damascus region, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the government press as stating that authorities were examining the theft, which he said had affected several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".

He noted that museum protectors at the institution and other individuals were being questioned.

The cultural institution, which was established in the early twentieth century, houses the most important cultural treasures in Syria.

It features clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the ancient era from Ugarit, where evidence of the earliest complete alphabet was uncovered; Greco-Roman period classical statues from the ancient city, a significant ancient sites of the ancient world; and a ancient religious building that was built at an ancient location.

The facility was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, a year after the beginning of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the holdings was removed and kept at secure places to ensure their safety.

It began limited operations in recent years and returned to normal in January 2025, a month after opposition groups removed the Assad regime.

All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or partially destroyed during the civil war.

The IS organization demolished numerous temples and additional edifices at the archaeological site, asserting that they were against their beliefs. Unesco censured the damage as a violation.

Countless cultural items were also lost or looted from dig sites and cultural institutions.