Valuable Artifacts Taken from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus

Valuable artifacts and additional items have been taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, officials say.

The theft was discovered on the start of the week, when staff allegedly found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the interior.

The six taken sculptures were marble creations and dated back to the Roman era, a source told the media outlet.

Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had opened an investigation to determine the "details surrounding the theft of a group of items", and that measures had been enacted to enhance safeguarding and monitoring systems.

The head of domestic security in the capital area, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the official media as saying that authorities were probing the theft, which he said had focused on several "ancient sculptures and valuable objects".

He added that museum protectors at the facility and other individuals were being interviewed.

The cultural institution, which was created in the early twentieth century, contains the primary cultural treasures in Syria.

It contains historical records originating to the Bronze Age from Ugarit, where indications of the oldest known complete alphabet was discovered; early centuries CE ancient art from the ancient city, a significant ancient sites of the ancient world; and a 3rd Century AD religious building that was established at another archaeological site.

The institution was forced to close in 2012, twelve months after the beginning of the destructive conflict. Most of the holdings was evacuated and stored at secure places to protect them.

It began limited operations in 2018 and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, four weeks after opposition groups removed President Bashar al-Assad.

Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were harmed or partially destroyed during the internal struggle.

The IS organization destroyed several ancient buildings and additional edifices at the archaeological site, stating that they were un-Islamic. International authorities censured the damage as a violation.

Numerous artefacts were also damaged or stolen from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.