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Ancient artifacts and other artefacts have been taken from Syria's National Museum in the capital, officials say.

The robbery was found on Monday, when staff allegedly found that a doorway had been damaged from the interior.

The half-dozen stolen pieces were made of marble and dated back to the Roman era, an authority stated to the news agency.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to identify the "events surrounding the theft of a collection of artifacts", and that steps had been implemented to enhance protection and monitoring systems.

The head of national security in the capital area, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the government press as saying that security forces were probing the incident, which he said had affected several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".

He continued that security personnel at the museum and other persons were being interrogated.

The National Museum, which was established in the early twentieth century, holds the primary cultural treasures in the country.

It features historical records originating to the ancient era from Ugarit, where proof of the oldest known writing system was uncovered; early centuries CE classical statues from Palmyra, among the foremost cultural centres of the classical era; and a ancient Jewish temple that was built at an ancient location.

The institution was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, twelve months after the start of the devastating civil war. A large portion of the collection was evacuated and kept at undisclosed sites to protect them.

It began limited operations in 2018 and returned to normal in early this year, one month after insurgents deposed Syria's former leader.

All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or partly ruined during the conflict.

The IS organization demolished multiple ancient buildings and historical sites at the ancient city, claiming that they were against their beliefs. Unesco condemned the destruction as a war crime.

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