Valuable Statues Removed from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Ancient sculptures and cultural objects have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, authorities report.
The burglary was discovered on the start of the week, when employees apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the interior.
The six taken pieces were marble creations and dated back to the Roman era, an authority informed the news agency.
Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to identify the "events surrounding the disappearance of a collection of artifacts", and that actions had been implemented to enhance security and monitoring systems.
The chief of national security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as declaring that law enforcement were investigating the robbery, which he said had focused on several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".
He noted that security personnel at the facility and additional people were being questioned.
The Damascus Museum, which was created in the early twentieth century, holds the significant archaeological collection in the country.
It contains ancient inscribed tablets originating to the Bronze Age from Ugarit, where indications of the most ancient writing system was uncovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD ancient art from the ancient city, among the foremost historical locations of the ancient world; and a ancient synagogue that was established at another archaeological site.
The museum was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, twelve months after the outbreak of the devastating civil war. A large portion of the artifacts was removed and stored at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.
It partially resumed in recent years and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, a month after rebel forces removed Syria's former leader.
All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the civil war.
The militant faction blew up multiple ancient buildings and other structures at the archaeological site, asserting that they were idolatrous. The cultural organization condemned the damage as a war crime.
Many historical objects were also destroyed or looted from archaeological sites and collections.
