🔗 Share this article Valuable Artifacts Removed from the National Museum in Damascus The National Museum resumed complete operations in January of this year, one month after the overthrow of Syria's former leader. Valuable statues and cultural objects have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, authorities report. The robbery was discovered on Monday, when staff reportedly found that an entrance had been broken from the interior. The six missing statues were crafted from marble and dated back to the ancient Roman times, one official stated to the news agency. Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to determine the "details surrounding the disappearance of a group of items", and that actions had been implemented to strengthen security and monitoring systems. The director of domestic security in the capital area, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the government press as declaring that security forces were investigating the incident, which he said had targeted several "archaeological statues and valuable objects". He continued that security personnel at the facility and additional people were being questioned. The National Museum, which was founded in the early twentieth century, houses the primary archaeological collection in the country. It includes clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the ancient era from an ancient city, where evidence of the most ancient writing system was found; early centuries CE ancient art from Palmyra, one of the most important ancient sites of the classical era; and a 3rd Century AD religious building that was built at Dura Europos. The facility was forced to close in the early 2010s, twelve months after the beginning of the internal strife. A large portion of the collection was evacuated and kept at secret locations to protect them. It partially resumed in recent years and resumed full operations in early this year, four weeks after opposition groups deposed President Bashar al-Assad. Every one of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were affected or significantly impacted during the internal struggle. The Islamic State group demolished numerous religious structures and historical sites at the ancient city, stating that they were idolatrous. The cultural organization condemned the destruction as a atrocity. Countless historical objects were also lost or looted from archaeological sites and collections.