Historic Statues Taken from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus
Ancient statues and additional items have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, sources confirm.
The theft was found on Monday, when museum workers apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the interior.
The multiple stolen statues were marble creations and dated back to the ancient Roman times, an authority stated to the news agency.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to determine the "events surrounding the theft of a group of artifacts", and that steps had been implemented to improve security and surveillance.
The chief of domestic security in Damascus province, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the government press as stating that security forces were probing the robbery, which he said had targeted several "archaeological statues and valuable objects".
He continued that guards at the museum and other persons were being interrogated.
The cultural institution, which was founded in the early twentieth century, contains the significant archaeological collection in Syria.
It features ancient inscribed tablets dating back to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where evidence of the most ancient complete alphabet was found; Greco-Roman period classical statues from Palmyra, a significant cultural centres of the classical era; and a third century synagogue that was constructed at Dura Europos.
The museum was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, a year after the start of the internal strife. The majority of the artifacts was transferred and kept at secret locations to safeguard them.
It reopened partially in 2018 and resumed full operations in early this year, one month after insurgents removed the Assad regime.
Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were affected or significantly impacted during the internal struggle.
The IS organization demolished several religious structures and additional edifices at the archaeological site, asserting that they were un-Islamic. International authorities condemned the destruction as a war crime.
Numerous artefacts were also destroyed or looted from archaeological sites and museums.
