🔗 Share this article

Valuable sculptures and other artefacts have been removed from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, sources confirm.

The robbery was found on the start of the week, when staff apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the inside.

The six missing statues were marble creations and traced back to the Roman era, an authority informed the news agency.

Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to establish the "events surrounding the theft of a group of exhibits", and that steps had been enacted to enhance protection and surveillance.

The chief of national security in the Damascus region, General Osama Atkeh, was cited by the official media as stating that law enforcement were investigating the theft, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and unique items".

He noted that museum protectors at the institution and additional people were being interrogated.

The cultural institution, which was created in the early twentieth century, holds the significant archaeological collection in Syria.

It contains historical records tracing back to the 14th Century BC from historical site, where indications of the oldest known complete alphabet was discovered; early centuries CE classical statues from historical site, one of the most important cultural centres of the historical period; and a third century Jewish temple that was constructed at another archaeological site.

The facility was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, one year after the start of the internal strife. The majority of the holdings was removed and kept at undisclosed sites to protect them.

It partially resumed in recent years and returned to normal in January 2025, four weeks after insurgents deposed Syria's former leader.

Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were damaged or significantly impacted during the internal struggle.

The militant faction demolished numerous religious structures and other structures at the archaeological site, stating that they were against their beliefs. The cultural organization censured the damage as a violation.

Countless historical objects were also damaged or taken from historical locations and cultural institutions.