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Historic artifacts and additional items have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, officials say.

The theft was discovered on the start of the week, when employees allegedly found that a doorway had been damaged from the inside.

The six taken statues were crafted from marble and originated to the Roman era, an authority informed the Associated Press.

Cultural heritage officials said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "events surrounding the theft of a collection of exhibits", and that measures had been implemented to strengthen security and monitoring systems.

The chief of internal security in Damascus province, Security Chief Atkeh, was quoted by the government press as stating that security forces were probing the theft, which he said had focused on several "archaeological statues and unique items".

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

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

It features clay cuneiform tablets originating to the 14th Century BC from Ugarit, where indications of the earliest linguistic system was found; Greco-Roman period classical statues from the ancient city, one of the most important ancient sites of the ancient world; and a third century synagogue that was established at an ancient location.

The museum was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, one year after the beginning of the devastating civil war. A large portion of the collection was removed and preserved at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.

It partially resumed in 2018 and completely reopened in early this year, four weeks after insurgents removed Syria's former leader.

Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were affected or significantly impacted during the internal struggle.

The militant faction blew up several ancient buildings and historical sites at the archaeological site, asserting that they were idolatrous. The cultural organization denounced the demolition as a war crime.

Numerous historical objects were also damaged or looted from historical locations and collections.