🔗 Share this article Historic Statues Stolen from the National Museum Located in Damascus The Damascus Museum resumed complete operations in the first month of 2025, a month after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. Historic sculptures and additional items have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, officials say. The burglary was found on the start of the week, when employees reportedly found that an entrance had been damaged from the inside. The multiple stolen pieces were marble creations and dated back to the Roman period, an authority informed the Associated Press. Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to establish the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a number of exhibits", and that actions had been taken to enhance security and observation methods. The director of internal security in the capital area, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as declaring that security forces were probing the robbery, which he said had targeted several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles". He noted that security personnel at the institution and additional people were being questioned. The cultural institution, which was founded in the early twentieth century, holds the primary archaeological collection in Syria. It contains historical records dating back to the ancient era from an ancient city, where proof of the most ancient linguistic system was uncovered; early centuries CE ancient art from Palmyra, among the foremost historical locations of the historical period; and a ancient religious building that was constructed at Dura Europos. The institution was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, twelve months after the outbreak of the internal strife. A large portion of the collection was transferred and stored at secret locations to safeguard them. It began limited operations in 2018 and returned to normal in early this year, a month after opposition groups removed President Bashar al-Assad. Every one of the country's cultural landmarks were affected or partly ruined during the civil war. The Islamic State group destroyed numerous temples and additional edifices at Palmyra, asserting that they were idolatrous. The cultural organization censured the demolition as a atrocity. Numerous artefacts were also lost or taken from dig sites and museums.