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Valuable statues and other artefacts have been taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, officials say.

The robbery was discovered on Monday, when employees allegedly found that one of the museum's doors had been broken from the interior.

The half-dozen taken pieces were made of marble and traced back to the Roman period, an authority informed the Associated Press.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to identify the "details surrounding the disappearance of a group of artifacts", and that actions had been taken to improve safeguarding and observation methods.

The head of domestic security in Damascus province, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as stating that authorities were investigating the theft, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and valuable objects".

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

The National Museum, which was founded in 1919, holds the primary cultural treasures in Syria.

It contains clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the Bronze Age from Ugarit, where proof of the earliest linguistic system was uncovered; Greco-Roman period classical statues from Palmyra, a significant ancient sites of the classical era; and a 3rd Century AD religious building that was established at an ancient location.

The institution was forced to close in the early 2010s, twelve months after the start of the destructive conflict. Most of the artifacts was evacuated and kept at secure places to ensure their safety.

It began limited operations in 2018 and completely reopened in the beginning of the year, a month after rebel forces removed Syria's former leader.

All six of the country's cultural landmarks were harmed or significantly impacted during the conflict.

The Islamic State group destroyed numerous temples and historical sites at the archaeological site, asserting that they were idolatrous. International authorities condemned the damage as a atrocity.

Numerous cultural items were also destroyed or stolen from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.