While UNESCO has resumed its programs in Syria after 14 years of absence, the National Museum of Damascus had to close Monday, November 10 after the discovery of a theft that took place during the night from Sunday to Monday. The museum is expected to reopen next week and an investigation is underway.
The thieves took away Hellenistic marble sculptures. It is estimated that six works were stolen, but the museum staff, out of a duty of confidentiality, only communicated this information anonymously to the AFP: no official confirmation has taken place. Other sources speak of the theft of old gold bars. The thieves broke in through the door leading directly to the antiques department where the stolen works were located. The police indicated, according to a source cited by AFP, that “several employees and guards of the museum were arrested” And “subjected to interrogation before being released”.
Founded in 1919, the National Museum of Damascus is the oldest and largest museum in the country. It opened in 1936 and was renovated and expanded in 1956 and 1975 to accommodate more works. Today, the museum preserves more than 300,000 objects covering 11 millennia of history, ranging from the Paleolithic to Islamic art, including the Greco-Roman era.
Part of the collection was moved during the civil war between 2011 and 2024, while the museum was closed between 2012 and 2018. Several heritage sites as well as several museums were destroyed, looted or damaged. The Damascus museum is one of the only survivors unscathed, apart from a mortar hit on one of the facades, without real damage. Several objects from sites and museums outside Damascus were transferred to the national museum during the war. After partially reopening in 2018, it closed for a month in December 2024 for fear of looting, at the time when the Organization for the Liberation of Syria entered the capital to defeat the regime of Bashar Al-Assad. It reopened last January.
The proceeds of the theft risk fueling the clandestine market for cultural objects in Syria. In June 2025, ICOM highlighted illegal excavations of archaeological artifacts and their sale, sometimes public, on social networks. Some damaged or unprotected buildings were also looted by traffickers.
