🔗 Share this article Historic Statues Removed from the National Museum in Damascus The Damascus Museum reopened fully in the first month of this year, a month after the removal of Syria's former leader. Valuable statues and cultural objects have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in the capital, officials say. The burglary was found on the start of the week, when staff reportedly found that an entrance had been broken from the inside. The half-dozen taken pieces were marble creations and traced back to the ancient Roman times, a source informed the media outlet. The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to determine the "events surrounding the disappearance of a collection of artifacts", and that steps had been implemented to improve protection and monitoring systems. The chief of domestic security in the capital area, Security Chief Atkeh, was referenced by the government press as declaring that security forces were examining the robbery, which he said had affected several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles". He added that museum protectors at the institution and other individuals were being questioned. The National Museum, which was created in the early twentieth century, houses the most important archaeological collection in Syria. It features historical records originating to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where indications of the oldest known linguistic system was discovered; early centuries CE ancient art from Palmyra, one of the most important cultural centres of the classical era; and a third century religious building that was constructed at another archaeological site. The institution was forced to close in the early 2010s, a year after the beginning of the internal strife. A large portion of the collection was evacuated and kept at secret locations to safeguard them. It began limited operations in 2018 and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, four weeks after insurgents overthrew the Assad regime. All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or partly ruined during the civil war. The Islamic State group blew up numerous ancient buildings and additional edifices at the archaeological site, claiming that they were against their beliefs. The cultural organization denounced the damage as a violation. Numerous artefacts were also lost or stolen from historical locations and cultural institutions.