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Valuable artifacts and other artefacts have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, sources confirm.

The burglary was discovered on the start of the week, when employees reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been broken from the interior.

The half-dozen taken pieces were made of marble and dated back to the Roman period, one official informed the Associated Press.

Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to determine the "details surrounding the disappearance of a collection of exhibits", and that actions had been implemented to strengthen safeguarding and surveillance.

The director of national security in the capital area, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the official media as stating that security forces were probing the incident, which he said had affected several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".

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

The Damascus Museum, which was created in the early twentieth century, houses the most important archaeological collection in Syria.

It features clay cuneiform tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where indications of the most ancient complete alphabet was discovered; early centuries CE classical statues from the ancient city, one of the most important historical locations of the classical era; and a 3rd Century AD synagogue that was constructed at Dura Europos.

The institution was had to cease operations in 2012, one year after the outbreak of the internal strife. Most of the artifacts was evacuated and preserved at secret locations to safeguard them.

It reopened partially in 2018 and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, one month after insurgents removed President Bashar al-Assad.

Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were harmed or significantly impacted during the civil war.

The IS organization demolished several ancient buildings and historical sites at Palmyra, claiming that they were idolatrous. The cultural organization condemned the demolition as a atrocity.

Countless artefacts were also destroyed or looted from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.