🔗 Share this article

Valuable statues and cultural objects have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in the capital, authorities report.

The theft was found on Monday, when staff reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been broken from the inside.

The half-dozen stolen sculptures were made of marble and originated to the Roman era, a source stated to the news agency.

Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to identify the "circumstances surrounding the loss of a number of items", and that measures had been enacted to improve protection and observation methods.

The head of internal security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was quoted by the government press as declaring that law enforcement were probing the incident, which he said had focused on several "historical artifacts and valuable objects".

He continued that museum protectors at the museum and other persons were being interrogated.

The National Museum, which was established in the early twentieth century, houses the primary cultural treasures in the country.

It includes clay cuneiform tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where indications of the oldest known linguistic system was uncovered; Greco-Roman period Greco-Roman sculptures from Palmyra, one of the most important ancient sites of the classical era; and a third century synagogue that was constructed at another archaeological site.

The facility was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, a year after the outbreak of the destructive conflict. The majority of the artifacts was removed and stored at secure places to ensure their safety.

It partially resumed in recent years and completely reopened in January 2025, one month after insurgents deposed President Bashar al-Assad.

Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the civil war.

The Islamic State group blew up multiple temples and historical sites at the archaeological site, asserting that they were against their beliefs. Unesco denounced the damage as a war crime.

Numerous cultural items were also lost or stolen from dig sites and collections.