Ancient Statues Removed from the National Museum in Damascus

Historic statues and additional items have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, authorities report.

The robbery was noticed on the start of the week, when employees reportedly found that a doorway had been damaged from the interior.

The half-dozen stolen statues were made of marble and traced back to the Roman period, a source stated to the media outlet.

Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had opened an investigation to identify the "circumstances surrounding the loss of a number of artifacts", and that steps had been implemented to strengthen security and monitoring systems.

The director of internal security in the capital area, General Osama Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as stating that law enforcement were investigating the robbery, which he said had affected several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles".

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

The National Museum, which was created in the early twentieth century, contains the primary historical artifacts in Syria.

It contains ancient inscribed tablets tracing back to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where proof of the oldest known writing system was found; early centuries CE classical statues from historical site, among the foremost historical locations of the ancient world; and a ancient synagogue that was established at Dura Europos.

The institution was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, one year after the start of the internal strife. A large portion of the artifacts was removed and stored at secure places to ensure their safety.

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

Every one of the country's cultural landmarks were damaged or partly ruined during the internal struggle.

The Islamic State group destroyed multiple religious structures and historical sites at the ancient city, claiming that they were against their beliefs. Unesco denounced the destruction as a atrocity.

Many cultural items were also destroyed or stolen from dig sites and museums.