Ancient Artifacts Stolen from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Ancient statues and additional items have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, sources confirm.
The burglary was noticed on the start of the week, when staff reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the inside.
The half-dozen missing sculptures were crafted from marble and originated to the ancient Roman times, one official informed the media outlet.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to determine the "details surrounding the loss of a number of exhibits", and that measures had been enacted to improve protection and monitoring systems.
The director of domestic security in the capital area, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as saying that law enforcement were examining the incident, which he said had affected several "archaeological statues and valuable objects".
He continued that guards at the museum and other individuals were being interrogated.
The Damascus Museum, which was founded in the early twentieth century, contains the significant historical artifacts in Syria.
It contains clay cuneiform tablets originating to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where proof of the most ancient complete alphabet was found; 1st and 2nd Century AD classical statues from Palmyra, among the foremost historical locations of the classical era; and a third century synagogue that was established at Dura Europos.
The museum was forced to close in 2012, a year after the start of the internal strife. Most of the holdings was evacuated and stored at undisclosed sites to ensure their safety.
It partially resumed in recent years and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, a month after rebel forces overthrew the Assad regime.
Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were damaged or significantly impacted during the conflict.
The Islamic State group demolished several ancient buildings and other structures at Palmyra, claiming that they were idolatrous. The cultural organization denounced the destruction as a atrocity.
Numerous artefacts were also lost or looted from historical locations and collections.
