Ancient Artifacts Removed from the National Museum in Damascus
Historic artifacts and additional items have been removed from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, officials say.
The burglary was noticed on the start of the week, when staff reportedly found that a doorway had been damaged from the interior.
The half-dozen taken sculptures were crafted from marble and traced back to the ancient Roman times, one official stated to the Associated Press.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had opened an investigation to determine the "details surrounding the loss of a number of exhibits", and that actions had been enacted to strengthen safeguarding and observation methods.
The chief of internal security in the capital area, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as saying that security forces were probing the theft, which he said had focused on several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".
He noted that guards at the facility and other persons were being questioned.
The cultural institution, which was founded in the early twentieth century, houses the primary historical artifacts in Syria.
It includes clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the Bronze Age from historical site, where evidence of the earliest writing system was discovered; Greco-Roman period classical statues from historical site, among the foremost cultural centres of the classical era; and a third century religious building that was established at an ancient location.
The institution was compelled to shut in 2012, a year after the outbreak of the internal strife. The majority of the collection was transferred and kept at secure places to protect them.
It partially resumed in 2018 and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, a month after insurgents removed President Bashar al-Assad.
Every one of nationally recognized sites were affected or significantly impacted during the internal struggle.
The IS organization destroyed numerous temples and historical sites at the ancient city, asserting that they were un-Islamic. International authorities censured the destruction as a atrocity.
Many artefacts were also destroyed or stolen from historical locations and collections.
