Ancient Artifacts Removed from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Ancient statues and additional items have been taken from Syria's National Museum in the capital, officials say.
The robbery was found on Monday, when employees allegedly found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the inside.
The half-dozen taken pieces were marble creations and dated back to the Roman era, an authority informed the news agency.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had opened an investigation to identify the "events surrounding the loss of a group of artifacts", and that steps had been implemented to enhance safeguarding and surveillance.
The chief of internal security in Damascus province, Security Chief Atkeh, was quoted by the official media as saying that law enforcement were probing the robbery, which he said had affected several "historical artifacts and unique items".
He added that guards at the facility and other persons were being interviewed.
The Damascus Museum, which was created in the early twentieth century, contains the primary historical artifacts in the country.
It includes historical records dating back to the Bronze Age from Ugarit, where proof of the earliest writing system was discovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD ancient art from Palmyra, one of the most important historical locations of the classical era; and a 3rd Century AD Jewish temple that was established at an ancient location.
The facility was had to cease operations in 2012, one year after the start of the internal strife. Most of the collection was removed and stored at secret locations to safeguard them.
It reopened partially in 2018 and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, one month after opposition groups deposed President Bashar al-Assad.
All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or significantly impacted during the civil war.
The militant faction destroyed numerous ancient buildings and additional edifices at Palmyra, asserting that they were un-Islamic. Unesco censured the destruction as a war crime.
Many historical objects were also lost or stolen from dig sites and collections.
