🔗 Share this article Historic Statues Taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus The Damascus Museum resumed complete operations in the first month of this year, four weeks after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. Ancient statues and other artefacts have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in the capital, officials say. The theft was discovered on the start of the week, when museum workers allegedly found that an entrance had been broken from the inside. The multiple stolen statues were crafted from marble and originated to the Roman era, one official stated to the media outlet. Cultural heritage officials said it had initiated an inquiry to identify the "details surrounding the loss of a group of artifacts", and that measures had been implemented to strengthen safeguarding and monitoring systems. The director of internal security in Damascus province, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the official media as stating that security forces were investigating the theft, which he said had focused on several "archaeological statues and valuable objects". He continued that security personnel at the institution and additional people were being interviewed. The cultural institution, which was created in 1919, contains the primary cultural treasures in Syria. It features clay cuneiform tablets dating back to the 14th Century BC from Ugarit, where evidence of the most ancient complete alphabet was found; Greco-Roman period ancient art from historical site, among the foremost cultural centres of the ancient world; and a third century synagogue that was built at Dura Europos. The facility was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, twelve months after the beginning of the internal strife. The majority of the collection was transferred and kept at secure places to protect them. It reopened partially in recent years and completely reopened in early this year, four weeks after insurgents removed Syria's former leader. Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the civil war. The Islamic State group blew up numerous ancient buildings and additional edifices at the archaeological site, stating that they were against their beliefs. Unesco condemned the demolition as a atrocity. Countless artefacts were also damaged or taken from dig sites and cultural institutions.