Thieves have broken into Syria's National Museum in Damascus and stolen several ancient Roman-era marble statues in a brazen heist that has shocked the archaeological community. The museum, which only reopened in January 2025 after years of closure during the country's devastating civil war, was forced to temporarily close its doors following the discovery of the theft early Monday morning.
Officials from Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums confirmed that six marble statues were taken from the museum's classical department, though the exact number remains under investigation. The theft occurred Sunday night when criminals broke through a door to access the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine artifacts housed in what has been described as one of the museum's most historically rich sections.
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A Museum's Troubled Reopening
The National Museum of Damascus, the largest in Syria, houses invaluable antiquities spanning millennia of the nation's rich cultural heritage. After the Syrian civil war began in March 2011, security was enhanced with metal gates and surveillance cameras to protect the collections. Yet despite these measures, thieves managed to breach the facility and make off with priceless artifacts.
The museum had only reopened on January 8, 2025, barely a month after rebels ousted President Bashar Assad, ending 54 years of Assad family rule. Maamoun Abdulkarim, former head of the government's antiquities and museums department, described the targeted section as "beautiful and historically rich," containing artifacts dating back to the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods. When journalists attempted to visit the museum on Tuesday morning, security guards confirmed it was closed and refused to answer questions about the theft.
Visitors and exhibits at Syria’s national museum reopening in 2018. (Fars Media Corporation/CC BY 4.0)
Syria's Cultural Heritage Under Siege
This latest theft represents another chapter in the ongoing tragedy facing Syria's antiquities. The Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums estimates that approximately one million artifacts were looted between 2011 and 2019 during the height of the conflict. Throughout the war, authorities moved hundreds of priceless artifacts to Damascus from various parts of the country, including from the historic central town of Palmyra, which fell under Islamic State control in 2015.
The Islamic State's occupation of Palmyra proved catastrophic for Syrian heritage. IS members destroyed mausoleums in the UNESCO World Heritage site, which is famous for its 2,000-year-old Roman colonnades and irreplaceable artifacts. The extremist group also murdered Khaled al-Asaad, the heroic director of Palmyra's archaeological site, who refused to reveal the locations of hidden treasures even under torture.
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Visitor at Syria's National Museum in Damascus in 2018. (SANA)
The Black Market Threat
The theft comes at a particularly vulnerable moment for Syria. The country continues to reel from 14 years of civil war and the recent political upheaval that saw the end of the Assad dynasty. Both officials who confirmed the theft to reporters spoke anonymously, citing regulations that prevent public statements before an official government announcement. The investigation is ongoing, but experts fear the stolen statues may already be en route to black market dealers who have long profited from Syria's instability.
Representative image: A limestone funerary bust from Palmyra, Syria, dating to the late 2nd century AD, now in the British Museum. (Carole Raddato/CC BY-SA 2.0)
International cooperation has helped recover some looted Syrian artifacts in recent years. Thousands of pieces have been returned from neighboring countries and international dealers, but the scale of the problem remains enormous. The Damascus museum theft demonstrates that even with enhanced security and international attention, Syria's cultural patrimony remains at risk.
Along with the recent theft from the Louvre Museum in Paris, this serves to remind us that the protection of cultural heritage requires constant vigilance. For a nation already devastated by conflict, each stolen artifact represents not just a financial loss but an irreplaceable piece of human history torn from its context. As investigators work to track down the stolen Roman statues, the international archaeological community will be watching anxiously, hoping these priceless treasures can be recovered before they disappear forever into private collections.
Top image: Left; The National Museum of Damascus, Syria's largest repository of antiquities. Right; Representative statue of Al’at Minerva that is kept at the museum. Source: Right; Schumeru/CC BY-SA 3.0, Left; Fars Media Corporation/CC BY 4.0
By Gary Manners
References
Associated Press. 2025. Thieves steal ancient Roman-era statues from the national museum in Syria. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/syria-stolen-antiquities-museum-damascus-7fd83c4e63666f2ecd018845ecac9376
The Independent. 2025. Ancient Roman-era marble statues taken in audacious museum theft. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/syria-museum-theft-damascus-statues-b2862815.html
