🔗 Share this article Ancient Statues Taken from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus The Damascus Museum resumed complete operations in the first month of this year, a month after the overthrow of the Assad government. Historic sculptures and cultural objects have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, authorities report. The burglary was discovered on the start of the week, when staff apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the inside. The half-dozen missing sculptures were crafted from marble and dated back to the ancient Roman times, one official informed the news agency. Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had launched a probe to identify the "events surrounding the loss of a collection of items", and that measures had been enacted to enhance protection and observation methods. The chief of national security in Damascus province, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the government press as saying that security forces were examining the incident, which he said had focused on several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles". He noted that museum protectors at the facility and additional people were being questioned. The cultural institution, which was created in 1919, holds the primary cultural treasures in Syria. It features clay cuneiform tablets dating back to the 14th Century BC from historical site, where proof of the oldest known writing system was found; 1st and 2nd Century AD ancient art from Palmyra, a significant cultural centres of the classical era; and a ancient Jewish temple that was built at another archaeological site. The facility was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, twelve months after the start of the devastating civil war. Most of the holdings was transferred and kept at undisclosed sites to protect them. It partially resumed in recent years and completely reopened in the beginning of the year, one month after insurgents removed President Bashar al-Assad. Every one of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or significantly impacted during the civil war. The militant faction blew up several temples and additional edifices at the archaeological site, claiming that they were idolatrous. Unesco censured the damage as a war crime. Numerous cultural items were also lost or looted from historical locations and collections.