Ancient Artifacts Taken from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus
Ancient statues and cultural objects have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, authorities report.
The robbery was discovered on Monday, when employees apparently found that a doorway had been forced from the inside.
The half-dozen stolen statues were made of marble and dated back to the Roman period, one official informed the media outlet.
Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to determine the "details surrounding the disappearance of a collection of exhibits", and that measures had been taken to strengthen security and monitoring systems.
The director of internal security in the capital area, General Osama Atkeh, was cited by the government press as declaring that security forces were examining the incident, which he said had focused on several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".
He noted that museum protectors at the museum and other persons were being questioned.
The cultural institution, which was created in 1919, contains the most important historical artifacts in Syria.
It contains clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the ancient era from Ugarit, where evidence of the most ancient writing system was uncovered; early centuries CE classical statues from historical site, among the foremost cultural centres of the classical era; and a 3rd Century AD synagogue that was established at Dura Europos.
The institution was forced to close in 2012, one year after the outbreak of the internal strife. Most of the collection was transferred and stored at secure places to protect them.
It reopened partially in 2018 and returned to normal in early this year, a month after insurgents removed President Bashar al-Assad.
Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were harmed or significantly impacted during the civil war.
The IS organization blew up multiple ancient buildings and additional edifices at Palmyra, stating that they were against their beliefs. Unesco censured the destruction as a war crime.
Numerous artefacts were also destroyed or taken from historical locations and cultural institutions.
