Valuable Artifacts Taken from the National Museum in Damascus
Valuable sculptures and additional items have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, officials say.
The theft was discovered on the start of the week, when employees allegedly found that an entrance had been damaged from the inside.
The half-dozen stolen statues were crafted from marble and originated to the Roman era, an authority told the media outlet.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to establish the "details surrounding the disappearance of a number of exhibits", and that actions had been taken to improve safeguarding and observation methods.
The chief of internal security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was quoted by the official media as declaring that law enforcement were probing the incident, which he said had focused on several "archaeological statues and valuable objects".
He noted that museum protectors at the facility and additional people were being interrogated.
The cultural institution, which was founded in 1919, contains the primary historical artifacts in the country.
It contains ancient inscribed tablets originating to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where indications of the most ancient complete alphabet was uncovered; early centuries CE classical statues from Palmyra, among the foremost historical locations of the classical era; and a ancient religious building that was constructed at Dura Europos.
The institution was compelled to shut in 2012, twelve months after the start of the internal strife. A large portion of the holdings was transferred and kept at secure places to safeguard them.
It began limited operations in 2018 and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, one month after insurgents removed Syria's former leader.
All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were affected or partly ruined during the conflict.
The militant faction blew up several temples and other structures at the archaeological site, claiming that they were idolatrous. Unesco censured the damage as a atrocity.
Countless historical objects were also lost or taken from archaeological sites and museums.
