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Valuable sculptures and additional items have been removed from Syria's National Museum in the capital, authorities report.

The burglary was noticed on the start of the week, when museum workers reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the inside.

The multiple missing statues were marble creations and traced back to the ancient Roman times, an authority told the Associated Press.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to determine the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a number of exhibits", and that steps had been implemented to enhance security and surveillance.

The director of national security in the capital area, General Osama Atkeh, was cited by the government press as saying that authorities were investigating the incident, which he said had focused on several "archaeological statues and unique items".

He noted that guards at the institution and additional people were being questioned.

The Damascus Museum, which was founded in the early twentieth century, houses the most important historical artifacts in Syria.

It includes clay cuneiform tablets originating to the ancient era from Ugarit, where proof of the most ancient linguistic system was uncovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD Greco-Roman sculptures from the ancient city, a significant cultural centres of the historical period; and a ancient synagogue that was established at another archaeological site.

The facility was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, twelve months after the start of the destructive conflict. Most of the artifacts was transferred and preserved at secure places to safeguard them.

It began limited operations in 2018 and completely reopened in January 2025, a month after insurgents removed President Bashar al-Assad.

Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were affected or partially destroyed during the civil war.

The Islamic State group demolished several religious structures and additional edifices at Palmyra, claiming that they were un-Islamic. International authorities condemned the demolition as a violation.

Many cultural items were also destroyed or taken from archaeological sites and collections.