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Historic statues and additional items have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, sources confirm.

The theft was discovered on the start of the week, when museum workers reportedly found that an entrance had been damaged from the interior.

The half-dozen taken sculptures were marble creations and traced back to the Roman era, a source told the Associated Press.

Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had initiated an inquiry to identify the "events surrounding the loss of a group of exhibits", and that actions had been enacted to strengthen security and surveillance.

The head of internal security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as saying that security forces were examining the incident, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".

He added that security personnel at the institution and other persons were being questioned.

The National Museum, which was established in 1919, holds the primary historical artifacts in Syria.

It includes clay cuneiform tablets dating back to the 14th Century BC from Ugarit, where evidence of the earliest linguistic system was discovered; Greco-Roman period ancient art from the ancient city, one of the most important cultural centres of the classical era; and a ancient synagogue that was built at another archaeological site.

The museum was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, twelve months after the start of the destructive conflict. Most of the holdings was evacuated and stored at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.

It reopened partially in 2018 and completely reopened in early this year, four weeks after opposition groups overthrew President Bashar al-Assad.

Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were harmed or partially destroyed during the conflict.

The militant faction destroyed numerous ancient buildings and historical sites at the archaeological site, asserting that they were idolatrous. The cultural organization denounced the demolition as a atrocity.

Many historical objects were also destroyed or stolen from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.