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

The burglary was noticed on the start of the week, when staff reportedly found that a doorway had been broken from the interior.

The multiple taken sculptures were made of marble and traced back to the ancient Roman times, one official informed the Associated Press.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to establish the "details surrounding the theft of a group of exhibits", and that actions had been enacted to enhance protection and observation methods.

The head of national security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the government press as saying that law enforcement were probing the robbery, which he said had focused on several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".

He continued that security personnel at the institution and other individuals were being interrogated.

The cultural institution, which was established in 1919, holds the most important cultural treasures in Syria.

It includes ancient inscribed tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where indications of the most ancient linguistic system was found; Greco-Roman period Greco-Roman sculptures from historical site, one of the most important cultural centres of the classical era; and a ancient Jewish temple that was established at an ancient location.

The museum was compelled to shut in 2012, a year after the outbreak of the internal strife. A large portion of the collection was transferred and stored at secret locations to safeguard them.

It reopened partially in 2018 and completely reopened in January 2025, four weeks after insurgents deposed President Bashar al-Assad.

Every one of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or significantly impacted during the conflict.

The IS organization blew up numerous religious structures and historical sites at Palmyra, stating that they were un-Islamic. Unesco censured the demolition as a atrocity.

Numerous cultural items were also lost or stolen from historical locations and cultural institutions.