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Valuable artifacts and additional items have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, sources confirm.

The burglary was found on the start of the week, when employees allegedly found that an entrance had been broken from the inside.

The six taken pieces were made of marble and originated to the Roman era, a source told the Associated Press.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to identify the "circumstances surrounding the theft of a group of artifacts", and that actions had been enacted to strengthen safeguarding and surveillance.

The director of internal security in Damascus province, Security Chief Atkeh, was quoted by the government press as saying that security forces were probing the robbery, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".

He continued that security personnel at the museum and additional people were being interviewed.

The Damascus Museum, which was founded in 1919, contains the significant historical artifacts in Syria.

It features clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where indications of the earliest writing system was discovered; early centuries CE classical statues from historical site, a significant ancient sites of the classical era; and a 3rd Century AD synagogue that was constructed at another archaeological site.

The institution was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, twelve months after the start of the devastating civil war. The majority of the artifacts was evacuated and stored at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.

It began limited operations in 2018 and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, one month after insurgents removed Syria's former leader.

All six of the country's cultural landmarks were harmed or partially destroyed during the civil war.

The militant faction demolished multiple religious structures and other structures at the archaeological site, asserting that they were idolatrous. The cultural organization censured the destruction as a violation.

Numerous cultural items were also destroyed or stolen from dig sites and collections.