🔗 Share this article Valuable Statues Stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus The National Museum resumed complete operations in January of 2025, one month after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. Historic artifacts and other artefacts have been taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, authorities report. The theft was found on the start of the week, when staff apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the inside. The multiple missing sculptures were crafted from marble and dated back to the Roman era, an authority informed the Associated Press. Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had launched a probe to determine the "circumstances surrounding the theft of a collection of artifacts", and that measures had been taken to strengthen protection and observation methods. The director of internal security in the Damascus region, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the government press as saying that security forces were investigating the theft, which he said had targeted several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles". He continued that museum protectors at the facility and other individuals were being interrogated. The National Museum, which was founded in 1919, houses the most important cultural treasures in Syria. It includes ancient inscribed tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from Ugarit, where evidence of the earliest complete alphabet was discovered; Greco-Roman period classical statues from the ancient city, a significant historical locations of the classical era; and a ancient Jewish temple that was built at another archaeological site. The institution was forced to close in the early 2010s, twelve months after the start of the internal strife. Most of the collection was evacuated and kept at secure places to safeguard them. It began limited operations in 2018 and completely reopened in the beginning of the year, one month after rebel forces removed Syria's former leader. Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or partly ruined during the civil war. The Islamic State group destroyed numerous temples and other structures at the ancient city, claiming that they were un-Islamic. The cultural organization denounced the demolition as a violation. Numerous artefacts were also lost or taken from historical locations and collections.