đŸ”— Share this article Historic Statues Taken from the National Museum Located in Damascus The Damascus Museum resumed complete operations in January of 2025, four weeks after the overthrow of the Assad government. Historic artifacts and additional items have been taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, sources confirm. The robbery was noticed on Monday, when museum workers reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the inside. The six stolen pieces were crafted from marble and traced back to the Roman period, an authority informed the Associated Press. The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "events surrounding the disappearance of a number of items", and that measures had been implemented to improve security and observation methods. The chief of domestic security in Damascus province, Security Chief Atkeh, was referenced by the state-run Sana news agency as stating that authorities were examining the robbery, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and unique items". He added that security personnel at the institution and other persons were being interviewed. The cultural institution, which was created in 1919, holds the significant cultural treasures in Syria. It features historical records tracing back to the ancient era from Ugarit, where proof of the earliest writing system was found; 1st and 2nd Century AD Greco-Roman sculptures from Palmyra, a significant ancient sites of the ancient world; and a ancient synagogue that was established at another archaeological site. The museum was forced to close in 2012, twelve months after the start of the devastating civil war. Most of the holdings was removed and kept at secure places to safeguard them. It partially resumed in 2018 and resumed full operations in early this year, four weeks after rebel forces removed Syria's former leader. Every one of the country's cultural landmarks were damaged or partially destroyed during the conflict. The IS organization destroyed numerous religious structures and historical sites at the archaeological site, stating that they were idolatrous. Unesco condemned the damage as a atrocity. Countless artefacts were also lost or stolen from dig sites and cultural institutions.