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Ancient statues and additional items have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, officials say.

The theft was discovered on Monday, when employees allegedly found that an entrance had been damaged from the interior.

The multiple stolen 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 identify the "events surrounding the disappearance of a number of items", and that actions had been implemented to strengthen protection and surveillance.

The director of internal security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the official media as stating that authorities were examining the incident, which he said had affected several "archaeological statues and valuable objects".

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

The cultural institution, which was founded in 1919, holds the most important historical artifacts in the country.

It features clay cuneiform tablets originating to the ancient era from an ancient city, where indications of the oldest known complete alphabet was found; early centuries CE classical statues from Palmyra, among the foremost historical locations of the classical era; and a third century Jewish temple that was built at Dura Europos.

The museum was compelled to shut in 2012, a year after the beginning of the devastating civil war. Most of the holdings was removed and preserved at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.

It reopened partially in 2018 and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, a month after opposition groups overthrew Syria's former leader.

All six of nationally recognized sites were harmed or partly ruined during the conflict.

The militant faction blew up multiple temples and other structures at Palmyra, stating that they were un-Islamic. International authorities denounced the damage as a war crime.

Many cultural items were also destroyed or stolen from historical locations and museums.