Ancient Artifacts Stolen from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Historic statues and additional items have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, sources confirm.
The robbery was discovered on the start of the week, when employees reportedly found that a doorway had been broken from the inside.
The six taken statues were crafted from marble and traced back to the Roman period, a source stated to the Associated Press.
Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to determine the "details surrounding the loss of a number of artifacts", and that steps had been taken to strengthen security and monitoring systems.
The head of internal security in Damascus province, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the government press as declaring that law enforcement were probing the theft, which he said had focused on several "archaeological statues and unique items".
He added that security personnel at the museum and additional people were being interviewed.
The Damascus Museum, which was created in the early twentieth century, contains the significant cultural treasures in the country.
It features ancient inscribed tablets tracing back to the ancient era from historical site, where proof of the most ancient writing system was uncovered; early centuries CE classical statues from historical site, one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world; and a 3rd Century AD religious building that was constructed at another archaeological site.
The institution was forced to close in the early 2010s, a year after the beginning of the internal strife. Most of the holdings was transferred and preserved at secret locations to protect them.
It reopened partially in 2018 and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, a month after insurgents overthrew Syria's former leader.
Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were affected or partially destroyed during the conflict.
The militant faction demolished numerous religious structures and additional edifices at the archaeological site, asserting that they were idolatrous. The cultural organization denounced the demolition as a war crime.
Numerous artefacts were also damaged or looted from dig sites and cultural institutions.
