đź”— Share this article Valuable Artifacts Stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus The Damascus Museum resumed complete operations in the first month of 2025, one month after the removal of the Assad government. Ancient sculptures and other artefacts have been taken from Syria's National Museum in the capital, officials say. The robbery was noticed on the start of the week, when staff reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been broken from the inside. The multiple stolen sculptures were made of marble and traced back to the Roman era, an authority told the Associated Press. The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "details surrounding the disappearance of a group of items", and that steps had been implemented to strengthen protection and monitoring systems. The head of domestic security in the capital area, Security Chief Atkeh, was quoted by the state-run Sana news agency as saying that security forces were investigating the incident, which he said had focused on several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles". He noted that security personnel at the institution and additional people were being questioned. The National Museum, which was established in 1919, contains the primary archaeological collection in the country. It includes ancient inscribed tablets tracing back to the 14th Century BC from Ugarit, where evidence of the oldest known writing system was uncovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD Greco-Roman sculptures from Palmyra, among the foremost historical locations of the ancient world; and a 3rd Century AD religious building that was built at an ancient location. The museum was had to cease operations in 2012, one year after the outbreak of the devastating civil war. Most of the artifacts was transferred and stored at secure places to safeguard them. It reopened partially in 2018 and returned to normal in early this year, four weeks after rebel forces overthrew the Assad regime. Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were harmed or partially destroyed during the internal struggle. The Islamic State group demolished numerous religious structures and other structures at the ancient city, claiming that they were un-Islamic. The cultural organization condemned the damage as a war crime. Numerous cultural items were also destroyed or looted from historical locations and cultural institutions.