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Historic statues and cultural objects have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, authorities report.

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

The half-dozen stolen sculptures were marble creations and traced back to the ancient Roman times, an authority informed the news agency.

Cultural heritage officials said it had initiated an inquiry to identify the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a number of exhibits", and that measures had been taken to improve safeguarding and monitoring systems.

The director of domestic security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was quoted by the government press as saying that authorities were probing the robbery, which he said had focused on several "historical artifacts and valuable objects".

He noted that guards at the museum and other persons were being interrogated.

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

It contains ancient inscribed tablets originating to the Bronze Age from Ugarit, where evidence of the most ancient complete alphabet was found; Greco-Roman period Greco-Roman sculptures from the ancient city, one of the most important ancient sites of the classical era; and a ancient synagogue that was established at an ancient location.

The museum was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, one year after the outbreak of the devastating civil war. The majority of the collection was evacuated and kept at secure places to ensure their safety.

It partially resumed in 2018 and returned to normal in early this year, four weeks after rebel forces removed the Assad regime.

Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were damaged or partly ruined during the internal struggle.

The militant faction blew up numerous ancient buildings and other structures at Palmyra, asserting that they were un-Islamic. International authorities denounced the damage as a war crime.

Numerous artefacts were also damaged or looted from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.