🔗 Share this article Historic Artifacts Removed from the National Museum in Damascus The National Museum resumed complete operations in January of this year, one month after the removal of Syria's former leader. Historic artifacts and additional items have been taken from Syria's National Museum in the capital, authorities report. The theft was discovered on the start of the week, when museum workers apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the interior. The half-dozen missing pieces were marble creations and dated back to the Roman period, a source informed the Associated Press. The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to identify the "events surrounding the theft of a collection of artifacts", and that actions had been enacted to enhance security and monitoring systems. The chief of domestic security in the Damascus region, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as saying that security forces were examining the robbery, which he said had affected several "historical artifacts and unique items". He noted that guards at the facility and additional people were being interrogated. The cultural institution, which was established in 1919, houses the most important historical artifacts in the country. It contains historical records tracing back to the ancient era from an ancient city, where evidence of the most ancient complete alphabet was uncovered; Greco-Roman period ancient art from historical site, among the foremost ancient sites of the classical era; and a third century Jewish temple that was built at an ancient location. The museum was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, one year after the beginning of the devastating civil war. The majority of the collection was transferred and kept at secure places to ensure their safety. It partially resumed in 2018 and resumed full operations in early this year, one month after rebel forces deposed the Assad regime. All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or significantly impacted during the conflict. The IS organization demolished multiple religious structures and other structures at the archaeological site, stating that they were against their beliefs. International authorities censured the destruction as a war crime. Countless artefacts were also destroyed or looted from historical locations and cultural institutions.