🔗 Share this article Ancient Artifacts Taken from the National Museum in Damascus The National Museum reopened fully in the first month of 2025, a month after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. Valuable sculptures and additional items have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in the capital, sources confirm. The robbery was found on the start of the week, when museum workers allegedly found that a doorway had been broken from the interior. The half-dozen stolen statues were crafted from marble and dated back to the Roman era, one official informed the Associated Press. The nation's antiquities authority said it had opened an investigation to determine the "details surrounding the theft of a number of artifacts", and that actions had been taken to strengthen protection and surveillance. The chief of internal security in the Damascus region, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the official media as saying that security forces were examining the robbery, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and unique items". He continued that security personnel at the institution and other individuals were being questioned. The Damascus Museum, which was established in 1919, holds the primary cultural treasures in Syria. It contains historical records originating to the 14th Century BC from Ugarit, where proof of the earliest linguistic system was discovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD classical statues from Palmyra, one of the most important ancient sites of the classical era; and a ancient religious building that was built at an ancient location. The institution was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, one year after the start of the devastating civil war. A large portion of the collection was transferred and kept at secure places to ensure their safety. It partially resumed in recent years and resumed full operations in early this year, a month after insurgents deposed Syria's former leader. Every one of nationally recognized sites were damaged or partly ruined during the conflict. The IS organization demolished several religious structures and other structures at the ancient city, claiming that they were idolatrous. The cultural organization censured the destruction as a atrocity. Countless artefacts were also destroyed or looted from archaeological sites and collections.