Ancient Statues Taken from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus
Ancient sculptures and additional items have been taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, authorities report.
The theft was noticed on Monday, when employees reportedly found that an entrance had been forced from the inside.
The multiple missing pieces were made of marble and originated to the ancient Roman times, an authority informed the Associated Press.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to establish the "details surrounding the disappearance of a number of artifacts", and that measures had been taken to improve safeguarding and observation methods.
The director of national security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was referenced by the government press as declaring that security forces were probing the incident, which he said had focused on several "ancient sculptures and valuable objects".
He noted that guards at the facility and additional people were being questioned.
The National Museum, which was founded in the early twentieth century, holds the primary archaeological collection in the country.
It contains clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the ancient era from historical site, where proof of the earliest complete alphabet was uncovered; early centuries CE classical statues from the ancient city, one of the most important ancient sites of the ancient world; and a third century Jewish temple that was established at an ancient location.
The institution was forced to close in 2012, one year after the start of the internal strife. The majority of the holdings was removed and stored at secret locations to protect them.
It reopened partially in 2018 and completely reopened in the beginning of the year, a month after rebel forces deposed President Bashar al-Assad.
Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were affected or partly ruined during the conflict.
The Islamic State group blew up numerous ancient buildings and additional edifices at the archaeological site, claiming that they were un-Islamic. The cultural organization censured the damage as a atrocity.
Numerous artefacts were also destroyed or looted from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.
