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Historic statues and other artefacts have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in the capital, sources confirm.

The robbery was noticed on the start of the week, when employees allegedly found that a doorway had been forced from the inside.

The multiple missing pieces were made of marble and dated back to the Roman period, an authority stated to the media outlet.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to establish the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a group of exhibits", and that measures had been implemented to strengthen safeguarding and monitoring systems.

The director of internal security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the official media as stating that security forces were probing the robbery, which he said had targeted several "archaeological statues and unique items".

He continued that security personnel at the institution and other individuals were being interviewed.

The Damascus Museum, which was created in 1919, houses the primary archaeological collection in the country.

It contains historical records dating back to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where proof of the oldest known complete alphabet was found; early centuries CE ancient art from the ancient city, one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world; and a third century Jewish temple that was constructed at another archaeological site.

The institution was forced to close in the early 2010s, twelve months after the beginning of the destructive conflict. The majority of the holdings was transferred and stored at secret locations to protect them.

It reopened partially in recent years and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, one month after insurgents deposed Syria's former leader.

Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were harmed or significantly impacted during the civil war.

The IS organization demolished multiple religious structures and additional edifices at the archaeological site, asserting that they were idolatrous. The cultural organization denounced the destruction as a war crime.

Numerous historical objects were also destroyed or taken from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.