Valuable Artifacts Stolen from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Historic statues and additional items have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, sources confirm.
The theft was found on Monday, when staff reportedly found that an entrance had been broken from the inside.
The multiple stolen sculptures were marble creations and traced back to the Roman period, an authority stated to the media outlet.
Cultural heritage officials said it had opened an investigation to establish the "details surrounding the loss of a collection of items", and that actions had been enacted to improve protection and monitoring systems.
The director of domestic security in the Damascus region, General Osama Atkeh, was cited by the official media as declaring that authorities were probing the theft, which he said had focused on several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".
He added that guards at the institution and other individuals were being interviewed.
The National Museum, which was created in 1919, houses the primary cultural treasures in Syria.
It contains historical records tracing back to the ancient era from historical site, where indications of the most ancient writing system was discovered; Greco-Roman period Greco-Roman sculptures from the ancient city, one of the most important historical locations of the ancient world; and a ancient Jewish temple that was established at Dura Europos.
The institution was had to cease operations in 2012, one year after the beginning of the destructive conflict. Most of the collection was evacuated and kept at secret locations to safeguard them.
It partially resumed in recent years and completely reopened in January 2025, one month after opposition groups removed Syria's former leader.
Every one of nationally recognized sites were harmed or partly ruined during the civil war.
The militant faction destroyed numerous religious structures and additional edifices at the ancient city, claiming that they were idolatrous. The cultural organization denounced the destruction as a atrocity.
Many cultural items were also lost or looted from dig sites and cultural institutions.
