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Historic statues and additional items have been removed from Syria's National Museum in the capital, officials say.

The burglary was noticed on Monday, when museum workers apparently found that a doorway had been forced from the inside.

The multiple stolen statues were made of marble and originated to the Roman era, one official stated to the news agency.

Cultural heritage officials said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "events surrounding the disappearance of a number of items", and that steps had been enacted to strengthen security and monitoring systems.

The chief of internal security in Damascus province, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the state-run Sana news agency as declaring that security forces were probing the robbery, which he said had focused on several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".

He noted that museum protectors at the museum and other individuals were being interviewed.

The Damascus Museum, which was established in the early twentieth century, houses the primary archaeological collection in the country.

It contains clay cuneiform tablets dating back to the 14th Century BC from historical site, where indications of the most ancient linguistic system was found; early centuries CE Greco-Roman sculptures from historical site, one of the most important historical locations of the classical era; and a third century synagogue that was constructed at an ancient location.

The facility was had to cease operations in 2012, twelve months after the outbreak of the internal strife. A large portion of the artifacts was transferred and stored at undisclosed sites to protect them.

It partially resumed in recent years and returned to normal in January 2025, one month after opposition groups overthrew Syria's former leader.

Every one of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were affected or significantly impacted during the internal struggle.

The militant faction destroyed several religious structures and additional edifices at the archaeological site, claiming that they were against their beliefs. The cultural organization censured the damage as a war crime.

Countless historical objects were also lost or stolen from dig sites and collections.