Historic Statues Taken from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus

Ancient statues and cultural objects have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, sources confirm.

The theft was noticed on the start of the week, when employees allegedly found that an entrance had been damaged from the interior.

The multiple taken sculptures were crafted from marble and traced back to the ancient Roman times, an authority stated to the news agency.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had opened an investigation to determine the "events surrounding the disappearance of a collection of artifacts", and that actions had been enacted to enhance safeguarding and monitoring systems.

The director of internal security in Damascus province, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the government press as saying that security forces were probing the incident, which he said had focused on several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".

He added that security personnel at the facility and other individuals were being interrogated.

The National Museum, which was established in 1919, contains the most important archaeological collection in the country.

It contains ancient inscribed tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where proof of the earliest writing system was discovered; Greco-Roman period ancient art from the ancient city, among the foremost cultural centres of the classical era; and a third century synagogue that was established at Dura Europos.

The museum was had to cease operations in 2012, twelve months after the outbreak of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the holdings was evacuated and kept at secure places to safeguard them.

It began limited operations in recent years and returned to normal in January 2025, four weeks after opposition groups removed Syria's former leader.

Every one of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were affected or partially destroyed during the internal struggle.

The Islamic State group blew up multiple religious structures and other structures at the archaeological site, stating that they were un-Islamic. Unesco condemned the destruction as a war crime.

Many cultural items were also destroyed or taken from dig sites and collections.