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Valuable statues and additional items have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in the capital, sources confirm.

The theft was discovered on the start of the week, when staff allegedly found that a doorway had been broken from the interior.

The multiple taken pieces were made of marble and traced back to the Roman era, a source informed the news agency.

Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had opened an investigation to establish the "circumstances surrounding the theft of a collection of artifacts", and that measures had been taken to improve protection and monitoring systems.

The director of national security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the official media as saying that law enforcement were examining the theft, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and unique items".

He noted that security personnel at the facility and additional people were being interviewed.

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

It contains clay cuneiform tablets originating to the Bronze Age from historical site, where indications of the earliest complete alphabet was discovered; Greco-Roman period Greco-Roman sculptures from historical site, a significant cultural centres of the historical period; and a ancient religious building that was established at Dura Europos.

The facility was forced to close in the early 2010s, one year after the start of the internal strife. Most of the artifacts was transferred and kept at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.

It began limited operations in recent years and completely reopened in the beginning of the year, one month after rebel forces removed President Bashar al-Assad.

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

The IS organization destroyed several temples and additional edifices at the ancient city, asserting that they were un-Islamic. International authorities condemned the demolition as a war crime.

Numerous historical objects were also lost or stolen from dig sites and cultural institutions.