🔗 Share this article Ancient Statues Taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus The Damascus Museum reopened fully in January of this year, four weeks after the deposition of Syria's former leader. Ancient artifacts and other artefacts have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, sources confirm. The burglary was discovered on the start of the week, when staff reportedly found that an entrance had been forced from the inside. The half-dozen stolen pieces were marble creations and traced back to the ancient Roman times, one official told the news agency. Cultural heritage officials said it had opened an investigation to establish the "events surrounding the disappearance of a collection of items", and that steps had been taken to strengthen safeguarding and surveillance. The chief of internal security in the Damascus region, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the government press as saying that security forces were probing the robbery, which he said had focused on several "historical artifacts and valuable objects". He continued that museum protectors at the facility and other individuals were being interrogated. The cultural institution, which was established in the early twentieth century, holds the most important archaeological collection in Syria. It includes ancient inscribed tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where indications of the earliest complete alphabet was found; early centuries CE ancient art from the ancient city, a significant historical locations of the classical era; and a third century synagogue that was constructed at an ancient location. The museum was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, one year after the outbreak of the destructive conflict. Most of the artifacts was transferred and preserved at undisclosed sites to protect them. It reopened partially in 2018 and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, a month after insurgents deposed the Assad regime. Every one of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or significantly impacted during the civil war. The IS organization blew up numerous temples and historical sites at Palmyra, asserting that they were against their beliefs. The cultural organization denounced the destruction as a atrocity. Many cultural items were also lost or looted from dig sites and cultural institutions.