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Ancient statues and cultural objects have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, officials say.

The burglary was discovered on the start of the week, when staff apparently found that a doorway had been forced from the interior.

The multiple missing sculptures were made of 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 establish the "events surrounding the theft of a group of artifacts", and that actions had been taken to enhance safeguarding and observation methods.

The head of national security in the capital area, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the state-run Sana news agency as declaring that security forces were probing the theft, which he said had focused on several "historical artifacts and valuable objects".

He added that security personnel at the facility and other persons were being interrogated.

The cultural institution, which was created in 1919, houses the significant historical artifacts in Syria.

It contains clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where proof of the earliest linguistic system was uncovered; Greco-Roman period classical statues from historical site, among the foremost ancient sites of the ancient world; and a ancient Jewish temple that was constructed at Dura Europos.

The museum was forced to close in the early 2010s, one year after the beginning of the devastating civil war. Most of the artifacts was removed and kept at undisclosed sites to protect them.

It began limited operations in 2018 and completely reopened in early this year, a month after insurgents removed Syria's former leader.

Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were affected or significantly impacted during the civil war.

The IS organization destroyed several ancient buildings and historical sites at the archaeological site, asserting that they were idolatrous. Unesco denounced the destruction as a atrocity.

Numerous historical objects were also destroyed or looted from historical locations and cultural institutions.