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Ancient sculptures and other artefacts have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, officials say.

The burglary was discovered on the start of the week, when staff allegedly found that an entrance had been forced from the interior.

The six taken pieces were marble creations and traced back to the ancient Roman times, a source stated to the media outlet.

Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "events surrounding the disappearance of a collection of exhibits", and that measures had been enacted to strengthen security and monitoring systems.

The chief of national security in Damascus province, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as stating that security forces were investigating the theft, which he said had focused on several "historical artifacts and unique items".

He continued that security personnel at the museum and other persons were being interrogated.

The Damascus Museum, which was established in 1919, contains the significant archaeological collection in the country.

It contains clay cuneiform tablets originating to the Bronze Age from historical site, where indications of the earliest linguistic system was discovered; early centuries CE ancient art from Palmyra, one of the most important historical locations of the classical era; and a ancient religious building that was built at Dura Europos.

The institution was forced to close in 2012, a year after the start of the destructive conflict. Most of the holdings was transferred and stored at undisclosed sites to protect them.

It began limited operations in recent years and completely reopened in January 2025, four weeks after insurgents removed President Bashar al-Assad.

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

The Islamic State group destroyed numerous temples and additional edifices at the archaeological site, asserting that they were idolatrous. International authorities condemned the damage as a violation.

Countless historical objects were also destroyed or looted from dig sites and collections.