Ancient Statues Removed from Syria's National Museum in Damascus

Valuable artifacts and cultural objects have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, authorities report.

The robbery was found on Monday, when employees reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the interior.

The multiple stolen statues were marble creations and traced back to the ancient Roman times, an authority told the news agency.

Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had launched a probe to establish the "circumstances surrounding the loss of a group of artifacts", and that steps had been enacted to strengthen safeguarding and surveillance.

The director of national security in the capital area, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the state-run Sana news agency as saying that law enforcement were examining the robbery, which he said had targeted several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".

He added that guards at the facility and other persons were being interrogated.

The Damascus Museum, which was founded in the early twentieth century, contains the significant historical artifacts in the country.

It contains ancient inscribed tablets tracing back to the 14th Century BC from historical site, where proof of the earliest writing system was found; 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 Dura Europos.

The institution was compelled to shut in 2012, twelve months after the start of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the collection was evacuated and kept at secure places to safeguard them.

It partially resumed in recent years and resumed full operations in January 2025, a month after opposition groups removed Syria's former leader.

Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were affected or significantly impacted during the civil war.

The IS organization destroyed multiple ancient buildings and additional edifices at the archaeological site, claiming that they were un-Islamic. Unesco condemned the destruction as a violation.

Numerous historical objects were also lost or stolen from dig sites and collections.