🔗 Share this article Ancient Artifacts Taken from the National Museum Located in Damascus The Damascus Museum resumed complete operations in January of this year, one month after the deposition of Syria's former leader. Historic artifacts and additional items have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, officials say. The theft was discovered on Monday, when museum workers allegedly found that one of the museum's doors had been broken from the inside. The six taken pieces were made of marble and dated back to the Roman period, a source told the Associated Press. Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to identify the "circumstances surrounding the loss of a group of exhibits", and that actions had been enacted to improve security and observation methods. The director of domestic security in Damascus province, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the official media as declaring that law enforcement were probing the robbery, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and unique items". He continued 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 cultural treasures in Syria. It includes ancient inscribed tablets tracing back to the ancient era from historical site, where evidence of the earliest complete alphabet was found; 1st and 2nd Century AD classical statues from the ancient city, one of the most important cultural centres of the historical period; and a ancient synagogue that was built at an ancient location. The institution was forced to close in 2012, one year after the start of the internal strife. The majority of the holdings was removed and kept at secure places to ensure their safety. It began limited operations in 2018 and completely reopened in January 2025, a month after opposition groups removed the Assad regime. All six of nationally recognized sites were damaged or partly ruined during the conflict. The IS organization blew up multiple ancient buildings and other structures at the archaeological site, claiming that they were un-Islamic. The cultural organization censured the damage as a atrocity. Many artefacts were also damaged or taken from dig sites and cultural institutions.