🔗 Share this article Valuable Artifacts Taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus The Damascus Museum reopened fully in the first month of 2025, a month after the overthrow of the Assad government. Valuable sculptures and additional items have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, officials say. The robbery was noticed on the start of the week, when staff reportedly found that an entrance had been damaged from the interior. The half-dozen taken pieces were made of marble and dated back to the ancient Roman times, one official told the media outlet. Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had opened an investigation to establish the "events surrounding the theft of a group of artifacts", and that measures had been taken to enhance security and monitoring systems. The chief of internal security in Damascus province, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the government press as saying that authorities were investigating the incident, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and unique items". He added that security personnel at the facility and other persons were being interviewed. The cultural institution, which was founded in the early twentieth century, contains the most important cultural treasures in the country. It features ancient inscribed tablets dating back to the 14th Century BC from historical site, where evidence of the oldest known complete alphabet was found; Greco-Roman period classical statues from historical site, among the foremost ancient sites of the classical era; and a ancient religious building that was built at Dura Europos. The institution was compelled to shut in 2012, twelve months after the outbreak of the internal strife. Most of the collection was removed and preserved at undisclosed sites to safeguard them. It began limited operations in 2018 and returned to normal in early this year, four weeks after insurgents deposed the Assad regime. Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the conflict. The Islamic State group blew up numerous ancient buildings and other structures at Palmyra, claiming that they were un-Islamic. Unesco condemned the destruction as a war crime. Countless historical objects were also lost or stolen from archaeological sites and museums.