Ancient Artifacts Removed from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus
Valuable statues and additional items have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, sources confirm.
The theft was found on Monday, when museum workers reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the interior.
The six taken statues were crafted from marble and traced back to the Roman period, an authority stated to the media outlet.
Cultural heritage officials said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "events surrounding the theft of a collection of artifacts", and that measures had been enacted to strengthen safeguarding and monitoring systems.
The director of domestic security in the Damascus region, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as stating that security forces were probing the incident, which he said had affected several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".
He continued that museum protectors at the facility and additional people were being interviewed.
The National Museum, which was established in the early twentieth century, houses the most important archaeological collection in Syria.
It includes ancient inscribed tablets dating back to the 14th Century BC from historical site, where evidence of the most ancient complete alphabet was uncovered; early centuries CE classical statues from historical site, a significant cultural centres of the classical era; and a 3rd Century AD religious building that was constructed at another archaeological site.
The institution was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, twelve months after the beginning of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the holdings was removed and stored at secret locations to ensure their safety.
It reopened partially in recent years and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, a month after opposition groups overthrew the Assad regime.
Every one of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or partly ruined during the civil war.
The IS organization demolished multiple temples and historical sites at the ancient city, claiming that they were un-Islamic. International authorities censured the damage as a atrocity.
Many artefacts were also lost or stolen from dig sites and collections.
