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Valuable sculptures and cultural objects have been taken from Syria's National Museum in the capital, sources confirm.

The theft was noticed on the start of the week, when staff reportedly found that an entrance had been forced from the inside.

The half-dozen taken pieces were crafted from marble and traced back to the Roman period, an authority stated to the media outlet.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "events surrounding the loss of a group of items", and that steps had been enacted to enhance protection and monitoring systems.

The chief of domestic security in the Damascus region, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as saying that authorities were investigating the theft, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and unique items".

He continued that museum protectors at the institution and other individuals were being questioned.

The cultural institution, which was established in 1919, holds the primary cultural treasures in the country.

It includes clay cuneiform tablets dating back to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where proof of the oldest known linguistic system was discovered; early centuries CE ancient art from historical site, one of the most important historical locations of the historical period; and a ancient religious building that was constructed at Dura Europos.

The institution was compelled to shut in 2012, one year after the beginning of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the collection was transferred and stored at secret locations to ensure their safety.

It partially resumed in 2018 and resumed full operations in early this year, four weeks after opposition groups deposed the Assad regime.

All six of nationally recognized sites were affected or partly ruined during the internal struggle.

The militant faction demolished numerous religious structures and additional edifices at the archaeological site, asserting that they were against their beliefs. Unesco condemned the destruction as a war crime.

Countless historical objects were also lost or looted from dig sites and museums.