🔗 Share this article Ancient Artifacts Taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus The National Museum resumed complete operations in January of this year, a month after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad. Valuable artifacts and additional items have been taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, authorities report. The burglary was discovered on the start of the week, when employees allegedly found that a doorway had been broken from the inside. The half-dozen missing sculptures were crafted from marble and dated back to the Roman era, a source told the news agency. The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "events surrounding the loss of a group of exhibits", and that actions had been taken to strengthen protection and observation methods. The director of domestic security in Damascus province, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the government press as declaring that security forces were examining the theft, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and unique items". He continued that museum protectors at the facility and other individuals were being questioned. The National Museum, which was created in 1919, holds the primary cultural treasures in the country. It includes clay cuneiform tablets dating back to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where evidence of the earliest linguistic system was discovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD Greco-Roman sculptures from the ancient city, a significant cultural centres of the ancient world; and a ancient religious building that was established at an ancient location. The institution was forced to close in 2012, a year after the outbreak of the devastating civil war. Most of the holdings was removed and preserved at secure places to safeguard them. It reopened partially in 2018 and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, four weeks after opposition groups overthrew Syria's former leader. Every one of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or partly ruined during the civil war. The Islamic State group blew up multiple temples and additional edifices at Palmyra, asserting that they were idolatrous. The cultural organization condemned the destruction as a violation. Countless cultural items were also lost or taken from archaeological sites and museums.