Valuable Artifacts Removed from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Valuable sculptures and additional items have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, sources confirm.
The robbery was noticed on Monday, when staff reportedly found that a doorway had been damaged from the interior.
The multiple stolen statues were crafted from marble and originated to the ancient Roman times, one official told the Associated Press.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to determine the "circumstances surrounding the loss of a collection of artifacts", and that actions had been implemented to strengthen security and monitoring systems.
The director of internal security in the Damascus region, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as declaring that security forces were examining the theft, which he said had affected several "archaeological statues and unique items".
He continued that museum protectors at the institution and additional people were being interviewed.
The National Museum, which was created in the early twentieth century, contains the primary cultural treasures in the country.
It includes ancient inscribed tablets originating to the ancient era from historical site, where proof of the most ancient linguistic system was uncovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD Greco-Roman sculptures from Palmyra, among the foremost cultural centres of the ancient world; and a third century Jewish temple that was constructed at another archaeological site.
The facility was forced to close in the early 2010s, one year after the outbreak of the internal strife. Most of the artifacts was transferred and stored at undisclosed sites to ensure their safety.
It partially resumed in recent years and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, one month after insurgents removed Syria's former leader.
All six of the country's cultural landmarks were harmed or partly ruined during the internal struggle.
The Islamic State group destroyed several religious structures and other structures at the archaeological site, asserting that they were idolatrous. Unesco condemned the destruction as a atrocity.
Countless artefacts were also damaged or stolen from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.
