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Ancient sculptures and other artefacts have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, authorities report.

The robbery was found on the start of the week, when staff reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the inside.

The six missing statues were crafted from marble and originated to the ancient Roman times, one official told the Associated Press.

Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had initiated an inquiry to determine the "details surrounding the loss of a group of exhibits", and that measures had been enacted to improve protection and monitoring systems.

The chief of national security in Damascus province, Security Chief Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as declaring that security forces were investigating the incident, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and valuable objects".

He noted that guards at the museum and additional people were being questioned.

The Damascus Museum, which was created in the early twentieth century, contains the most important historical artifacts in Syria.

It features clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the Bronze Age from Ugarit, where evidence of the oldest known complete alphabet was uncovered; early centuries CE classical statues from historical site, one of the most important historical locations of the historical period; and a third century Jewish temple that was established at another archaeological site.

The facility was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, a year after the outbreak of the devastating civil war. The majority of the collection was transferred and kept at secret locations to safeguard them.

It partially resumed in 2018 and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, a month after opposition groups removed the Assad regime.

Every one of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or significantly impacted during the conflict.

The militant faction blew up several religious structures and additional edifices at the ancient city, asserting that they were un-Islamic. Unesco denounced the destruction as a violation.

Numerous cultural items were also destroyed or looted from archaeological sites and collections.