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Valuable artifacts and additional items have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, officials say.

The robbery was discovered on Monday, when museum workers apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the inside.

The half-dozen stolen sculptures were crafted from marble and dated back to the Roman era, a source stated to the Associated Press.

Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had initiated an inquiry to identify the "events surrounding the loss of a number of exhibits", and that actions had been taken to strengthen protection and observation methods.

The chief of internal security in the capital area, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the official media as saying that law enforcement were investigating the incident, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles".

He added that security personnel at the facility and other persons were being interrogated.

The National Museum, which was created in the early twentieth century, houses the primary cultural treasures in Syria.

It includes ancient inscribed tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from Ugarit, where evidence of the oldest known complete alphabet was found; Greco-Roman period Greco-Roman sculptures from the ancient city, one of the most important historical locations of the ancient world; and a 3rd Century AD Jewish temple that was built at another archaeological site.

The museum was compelled to shut in 2012, one year after the outbreak of the devastating civil war. The majority of the holdings was evacuated and kept at secret locations to protect them.

It reopened partially in recent years and resumed full operations in January 2025, one month after opposition groups removed the Assad regime.

All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or partly ruined during the civil war.

The IS organization destroyed multiple temples and additional edifices at Palmyra, claiming that they were idolatrous. The cultural organization censured the destruction as a war crime.

Many historical objects were also destroyed or taken from archaeological sites and museums.