🔗 Share this article Ancient Statues Stolen from the National Museum in Damascus The National Museum reopened fully in the first month of this year, four weeks after the removal of Syria's former leader. Valuable sculptures and cultural objects have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, officials say. The robbery was noticed on Monday, when employees reportedly found that a doorway had been broken from the inside. The half-dozen missing sculptures were marble creations and traced back to the ancient Roman times, an authority informed the Associated Press. The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "circumstances surrounding the loss of a group of exhibits", and that steps had been enacted to enhance security and observation methods. The chief of national security in the Damascus region, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the official media as declaring that law enforcement were examining the robbery, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and unique items". He noted that museum protectors at the facility and additional people were being interrogated. The cultural institution, which was created in 1919, holds the primary cultural treasures in the country. It contains clay cuneiform tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from Ugarit, where proof of the earliest complete alphabet was discovered; Greco-Roman period Greco-Roman sculptures from historical site, one of the most important historical locations of the ancient world; and a 3rd Century AD synagogue that was established at Dura Europos. The museum was forced to close in 2012, a year after the outbreak of the devastating civil war. Most of the collection was evacuated and kept at secure places to safeguard them. It partially resumed in 2018 and resumed full operations in early this year, four weeks after insurgents overthrew President Bashar al-Assad. Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were damaged or partly ruined during the civil war. The militant faction destroyed multiple temples and historical sites at the archaeological site, asserting that they were against their beliefs. The cultural organization denounced the demolition as a war crime. Many cultural items were also destroyed or stolen from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.