Valuable Sculptures Taken from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Historic sculptures and additional items have been taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, authorities report.
The robbery was found 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 made of marble and traced back to the Roman period, an authority informed the media outlet.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a group of exhibits", and that measures had been implemented to enhance safeguarding and surveillance.
The head of national security in the capital area, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the state-run Sana news agency as saying that law enforcement were examining the incident, which he said had focused on several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".
He continued that guards at the facility and other persons were being interviewed.
The National Museum, which was founded in 1919, contains the primary historical artifacts in the country.
It contains clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where proof of the earliest writing system was uncovered; Greco-Roman period ancient art from historical site, one of the most important historical locations of the historical period; and a 3rd Century AD Jewish temple that was built at an ancient location.
The institution was compelled to shut in 2012, twelve months after the outbreak of the internal strife. A large portion of the artifacts was removed and kept at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.
It partially resumed in 2018 and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, one month after insurgents overthrew Syria's former leader.
Every one of the country's cultural landmarks were harmed or partially destroyed during the internal struggle.
The IS organization blew up numerous temples and other structures at the archaeological site, asserting that they were un-Islamic. The cultural organization denounced the demolition as a atrocity.
Many historical objects were also damaged or taken from historical locations and cultural institutions.
