Ancient Statues Stolen from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus
Ancient sculptures and additional items have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, sources confirm.
The theft was found on Monday, when employees reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been broken from the interior.
The half-dozen missing statues were marble creations and traced back to the Roman period, an authority told the Associated Press.
Cultural heritage officials said it had opened an investigation to identify the "events surrounding the disappearance of a collection of exhibits", and that steps had been implemented to enhance security and monitoring systems.
The head of domestic security in the Damascus region, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the government press as stating that law enforcement were examining the robbery, which he said had focused on several "ancient sculptures and unique items".
He continued that security personnel at the institution and additional people were being interviewed.
The cultural institution, which was founded in the early twentieth century, holds the significant cultural treasures in Syria.
It features ancient inscribed tablets dating back to the ancient era from historical site, where proof of the earliest linguistic system was found; Greco-Roman period Greco-Roman sculptures from Palmyra, a significant ancient sites of the historical period; and a ancient synagogue that was constructed at Dura Europos.
The facility was forced to close in the early 2010s, a year after the beginning of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the artifacts was evacuated and stored at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.
It began limited operations in recent years and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, a month after rebel forces removed President Bashar al-Assad.
Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the internal struggle.
The Islamic State group blew up numerous ancient buildings and additional edifices at the archaeological site, asserting that they were idolatrous. Unesco condemned the damage as a atrocity.
Countless cultural items were also damaged or taken from dig sites and collections.
