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Ancient Roman-era statues have been stolen from the national museum in the Syrian capital, Damascus, leading to the facility’s temporary closure, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
News of the audacious heist in the classical department of the National Museum of Damascus unfolds as the country grapples with the aftermath of a 14-year civil war and the collapse of the 54-year Assad family rule in 2024.
The museum, the largest in the capital, houses valuable antiquities reflecting Syria’s rich history. Despite enhanced security measures, including metal gates and surveillance cameras installed after the war began, the thieves managed to breach the facility.
Two officials from Syria’s Directorate General for Antiquities and Museums confirmed the incident to reporters, speaking anonymously due to regulations preventing them from giving public statements.
One official said that six marble statues had been taken from the museum, adding that an investigation is currently underway.
Another official indicated that the theft occurred on Sunday night and was discovered early on Monday when a broken door was found in the classical department, with several Roman-era statues missing. That official, however, declined to specify an exact number of stolen items.
It comes just weeks after thieves disguised as construction workers stole a number of pieces from the French crown jewels collection at the Louvre museum in Paris.
The jewels, valued at around €88m (£77.5m), once belonged to monarchs including Napoleon III and his wife Eugenie. The thieves raided the museum during opening hours, and the robbery took less than eight minutes from start to finish.
open image in gallery
The National Museum of Damascus is the largest in Syria (Getty/iStock)
Multiple people have been arrested in relation to the heist, which exposed security lapses at the world’s most visited museum and was regarded by many as a national humiliation.
It has since been revealed that the password “Louvre” gave access to the server responsible for the museum’s video surveillance.
It was similarly easy to gain access to the Louvre’s cybersecurity software, provided by Thales, as the password was the name of the aforementioned company.