🔗 Share this article Historic Sculptures Stolen from the National Museum in Damascus The Damascus Museum reopened fully in January of this year, four weeks after the deposition of Syria's former leader. Valuable artifacts and additional items have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, officials say. The robbery was found on Monday, when museum workers allegedly found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the inside. The multiple stolen statues were marble creations and dated back to the Roman era, an authority stated to the news agency. Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had launched a probe to identify the "events surrounding the disappearance of a number of exhibits", and that actions had been taken to strengthen safeguarding and monitoring systems. The head of internal security in the capital area, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as saying that law enforcement were investigating the robbery, which he said had focused on several "historical artifacts and valuable objects". He continued that guards at the museum and other persons were being questioned. The Damascus Museum, which was founded in 1919, contains the primary cultural treasures in Syria. It contains ancient inscribed tablets dating back to the ancient era from an ancient city, where evidence of the earliest writing system was discovered; early centuries CE classical statues from historical site, one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world; and a third century synagogue that was established at another archaeological site. The institution was forced to close in the early 2010s, a year after the outbreak of the internal strife. The majority of the artifacts was transferred and kept at secret locations to safeguard them. It reopened partially in recent years and returned to normal in January 2025, four weeks after insurgents overthrew President Bashar al-Assad. Every one of the country's cultural landmarks were affected or partially destroyed during the internal struggle. The Islamic State group demolished several ancient buildings and historical sites at Palmyra, claiming that they were un-Islamic. Unesco censured the demolition as a war crime. Many historical objects were also damaged or looted from dig sites and cultural institutions.