URGENT UPDATE: Thieves have stolen six valuable Roman-era statues from the National Museum of Damascus, marking a shocking breach for Syria’s cultural heritage. The theft occurred early on November 10, 2023, when museum staff discovered the broken door to the classical department, prompting an immediate investigation by authorities.
The National Museum, the largest in Syria, had only recently reopened as the nation seeks recovery from a devastating civil war and long-standing dictatorship. This incident is particularly alarming as it follows a rise in cultural heritage looting since the escape of former leader Bashar al-Assad last December.
According to reports from the Associated Press, gold ingots of unknown origin were also taken during the early morning heist. The museum’s collection spans an impressive 11,000 years of Syrian history, featuring antiquities from prehistoric, Byzantine, and Islamic eras.
Adnan Almohamad, an honorary research fellow at Birkbeck College, University of London, raised concerns that the heist could have been an inside job. In a statement to Hyperallergic, he noted, “It appears that the operation was carried out by individuals with good knowledge of the Damascus Museum and its vulnerabilities.”
The Syrian Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums has yet to comment on this alarming theft. Almohamad compared this incident to a previous theft of 13 items from a national museum in Deir ez-Zor in 2010, where a museum staff member was implicated. He further emphasized that the stolen items originated from an exhibition hall with well-documented objects, potentially making their illicit sale more difficult.
“There’s a silver lining,” Almohamad explained. “If they had been taken from storage areas, the situation would have been far worse, complicating identification and recovery.”
This brazen act of theft underlines the ongoing threats to Syria’s rich cultural heritage, which has already suffered immensely due to the civil war. As the investigation unfolds, the world watches closely to see how authorities respond to safeguard the remaining treasures of this historically rich nation.
With the museum previously closed for six years due to conflict and briefly shuttered again after the recent power shifts, the future of Syria’s cultural heritage hangs in the balance. The international community is urged to remain vigilant against further looting as this situation develops.
Stay tuned for updates on this critical situation as authorities work to recover the stolen statues and secure the National Museum’s priceless collections.
