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Valuable artifacts and other artefacts have been taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, authorities report.

The burglary was found on Monday, when employees apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the inside.

The half-dozen missing pieces were marble creations and traced back to the ancient Roman times, a source told the media outlet.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a number of exhibits", and that steps had been implemented to improve safeguarding and observation methods.

The head of internal security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as stating that security forces were investigating the incident, which he said had affected several "historical artifacts and valuable objects".

He continued that guards at the institution and other persons were being interrogated.

The Damascus Museum, which was founded in 1919, holds the most important archaeological collection in the country.

It contains ancient inscribed tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where evidence of the earliest writing system was uncovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD classical statues from the ancient city, a significant ancient sites of the historical period; and a ancient synagogue that was constructed at an ancient location.

The institution was compelled to shut in 2012, twelve months after the beginning of the destructive conflict. Most of the holdings was removed and stored at secret locations to ensure their safety.

It began limited operations in recent years and returned to normal in January 2025, a month after opposition groups overthrew President Bashar al-Assad.

Every one of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or partially destroyed during the internal struggle.

The IS organization destroyed multiple religious structures and additional edifices at the archaeological site, claiming that they were un-Islamic. Unesco condemned the destruction as a violation.

Countless cultural items were also lost or looted from historical locations and cultural institutions.