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Ancient statues and cultural objects have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in the capital, authorities report.

The burglary was noticed on Monday, when museum workers reportedly found that an entrance had been broken from the inside.

The multiple stolen statues were marble creations and traced back to the ancient Roman times, a source informed the Associated Press.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to determine the "details surrounding the theft of a group of artifacts", and that actions had been taken to improve security and monitoring systems.

The director of internal security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the official media as stating that security forces were examining the theft, which he said had focused on several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles".

He continued that museum protectors at the facility and additional people were being interrogated.

The Damascus Museum, which was established in the early twentieth century, contains the primary historical artifacts in Syria.

It contains ancient inscribed tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where evidence of the earliest writing system was discovered; early centuries CE Greco-Roman sculptures from Palmyra, a significant cultural centres of the ancient world; and a 3rd Century AD religious building that was constructed at an ancient location.

The facility was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, twelve months after the outbreak of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the collection was removed and preserved at secure places to safeguard them.

It partially resumed in recent years and resumed full operations in January 2025, a month after opposition groups overthrew President Bashar al-Assad.

All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the civil war.

The IS organization blew up multiple religious structures and historical sites at the archaeological site, stating that they were against their beliefs. Unesco denounced the demolition as a war crime.

Countless cultural items were also destroyed or looted from dig sites and museums.