🔗 Share this article Valuable Artifacts Stolen from the National Museum in Damascus The National Museum reopened fully in the first month of this year, a month after the deposition of President Bashar al-Assad. Historic artifacts and other artefacts have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, officials say. The burglary was discovered on Monday, when museum workers allegedly found that a doorway had been forced from the inside. The half-dozen taken pieces were made of marble and traced back to the Roman era, a source informed the media outlet. Cultural heritage officials said it had opened an investigation to determine the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a group of artifacts", and that steps had been taken to improve protection and surveillance. The head of domestic security in the capital area, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the state-run Sana news agency as saying that security forces were examining the robbery, which he said had affected several "archaeological statues and valuable objects". He noted that security personnel at the institution and additional people were being interrogated. The National Museum, which was established in the early twentieth century, holds the primary cultural treasures in Syria. It includes ancient inscribed tablets dating back to the 14th Century BC from historical site, where indications of the oldest known complete alphabet was found; 1st and 2nd Century AD Greco-Roman sculptures from historical site, a significant cultural centres of the ancient world; and a 3rd Century AD Jewish temple that was established at an ancient location. The institution was forced to close in 2012, one year after the start of the devastating civil war. A large portion of the artifacts was transferred and kept at secure places to safeguard them. It reopened partially in recent years and completely reopened in January 2025, four weeks after insurgents deposed President Bashar al-Assad. Every one of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or significantly impacted during the conflict. The Islamic State group demolished multiple ancient buildings and additional edifices at the ancient city, claiming that they were un-Islamic. Unesco denounced the destruction as a war crime. Countless historical objects were also damaged or looted from historical locations and cultural institutions.