Ancient Statues Taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus

Cultural Exterior
The National Museum resumed complete operations in January of 2025, a month after the overthrow of Syria's former leader.

Valuable artifacts and other artefacts have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, sources confirm.

The burglary was noticed on the start of the week, when museum workers apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the interior.

The half-dozen taken statues were marble creations and dated back to the Roman period, an authority stated to the media outlet.

Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to establish the "circumstances surrounding the theft of a number of exhibits", and that actions had been enacted to enhance security and monitoring systems.

The head of internal security in Damascus province, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the official media as stating that authorities were investigating the incident, which he said had focused on several "ancient sculptures and valuable objects".

He continued that security personnel at the institution and other individuals were being interviewed.

The Damascus Museum, which was founded in 1919, holds the primary cultural treasures in Syria.

It features ancient inscribed tablets originating to the Bronze Age from historical site, where indications of the most ancient complete alphabet was found; early centuries CE ancient art from the ancient city, one of the most important historical locations of the historical period; and a ancient Jewish temple that was established at an ancient location.

The facility was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, one year after the outbreak of the internal strife. A large portion of the collection was transferred and stored at undisclosed sites to ensure their safety.

It partially resumed in recent years and completely reopened in the beginning of the year, one month after insurgents deposed President Bashar al-Assad.

Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were affected or partly ruined during the civil war.

The IS organization destroyed several religious structures and historical sites at the archaeological site, claiming that they were idolatrous. Unesco condemned the demolition as a atrocity.

Many artefacts were also damaged or taken from archaeological sites and collections.

Robert Butler
Robert Butler

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