🔗 Share this article Valuable Sculptures Taken from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus The Damascus Museum reopened fully in January of this year, one month after the deposition of Syria's former leader. Ancient artifacts and cultural objects have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in the capital, authorities report. The robbery was discovered on Monday, when employees allegedly found that one of the museum's doors had been broken from the interior. The six stolen statues were marble creations and traced back to the Roman period, one official stated to the news agency. Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had opened an investigation to determine the "events surrounding the loss of a group of items", and that steps had been enacted to improve safeguarding and observation methods. The director of national security in the capital area, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the government press as declaring that authorities were probing the theft, which he said had targeted several "archaeological statues and unique items". He added that museum protectors at the facility and additional people were being interviewed. The Damascus Museum, which was established in the early twentieth century, contains the significant archaeological collection in Syria. It contains ancient inscribed tablets tracing back to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where indications of the earliest complete alphabet was discovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD ancient art from Palmyra, one of the most important ancient sites of the historical period; and a 3rd Century AD religious building that was built at an ancient location. The facility was forced to close in the early 2010s, a year after the start of the destructive conflict. Most of the holdings was evacuated and stored at secret locations to protect them. It partially resumed in 2018 and resumed full operations in January 2025, four weeks after opposition groups overthrew the Assad regime. Every one of the country's cultural landmarks were damaged or partly ruined during the internal struggle. The IS organization demolished several religious structures and historical sites at the ancient city, claiming that they were against their beliefs. International authorities denounced the demolition as a violation. Many artefacts were also destroyed or taken from historical locations and cultural institutions.