Valuable Sculptures Removed from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Valuable statues and additional items have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, sources confirm.
The theft was noticed on Monday, when employees apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the inside.
The six missing pieces were crafted from marble and originated to the Roman era, an authority stated to the news agency.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to identify the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a group of items", and that steps had been enacted to strengthen security and monitoring systems.
The director of domestic security in Damascus province, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the official media as stating that security forces were examining the theft, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles".
He noted that museum protectors at the museum and additional people were being interviewed.
The Damascus Museum, which was founded in 1919, houses the primary archaeological collection in the country.
It includes ancient inscribed tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from Ugarit, where evidence of the most ancient linguistic system was found; 1st and 2nd Century AD classical statues from the ancient city, one of the most important cultural centres of the classical era; and a 3rd Century AD Jewish temple that was constructed at Dura Europos.
The institution was had to cease operations in 2012, twelve months after the beginning of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the holdings was transferred and stored at undisclosed sites to ensure their safety.
It partially resumed in 2018 and returned to normal in January 2025, four weeks after insurgents overthrew Syria's former leader.
Every one of nationally recognized sites were damaged or partly ruined during the conflict.
The militant faction demolished numerous religious structures and additional edifices at the archaeological site, claiming that they were idolatrous. Unesco denounced the damage as a violation.
Many cultural items were also destroyed or stolen from archaeological sites and collections.
