🔗 Share this article Ancient Sculptures Taken from the National Museum Located in Damascus The Damascus Museum resumed complete operations in January of this year, a month after the removal of President Bashar al-Assad. Historic statues and cultural objects have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in the capital, officials say. The theft was discovered on the start of the week, when staff apparently found that an entrance had been broken from the interior. The multiple missing pieces were marble creations and traced back to the Roman era, a source stated to the media outlet. The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to identify the "events surrounding the disappearance of a collection of exhibits", and that steps had been implemented to improve protection and monitoring systems. The head of internal security in Damascus province, Security Chief Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as declaring that security forces were examining the theft, which he said had focused on several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles". He noted that guards at the institution and additional people were being interrogated. The cultural institution, which was established in the early twentieth century, houses the significant archaeological collection in the country. It includes clay cuneiform tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from historical site, where evidence of the oldest known complete alphabet was found; Greco-Roman period Greco-Roman sculptures from historical site, among the foremost ancient sites of the classical era; and a ancient Jewish temple that was constructed at an ancient location. The facility was compelled to shut in 2012, twelve months after the beginning of the internal strife. Most of the collection was evacuated and preserved at secure places to safeguard them. It partially resumed in recent years and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, a month after rebel forces removed Syria's former leader. All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or partly ruined during the civil war. The militant faction blew up numerous ancient buildings and other structures at the ancient city, stating that they were un-Islamic. International authorities condemned the demolition as a violation. Countless artefacts were also lost or taken from historical locations and cultural institutions.