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Ancient sculptures and additional items have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, sources confirm.

The robbery was noticed on Monday, when museum workers reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the inside.

The multiple taken pieces were made of marble and traced back to the Roman era, an authority told the news agency.

Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to identify the "details surrounding the loss of a collection of items", and that steps had been enacted to strengthen protection and surveillance.

The chief of national security in the capital area, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the state-run Sana news agency as stating that authorities were investigating the robbery, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and valuable objects".

He continued that museum protectors at the facility and other individuals were being interviewed.

The Damascus Museum, which was established in 1919, houses the primary cultural treasures in Syria.

It includes historical records dating back to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where indications of the earliest writing system was uncovered; Greco-Roman period Greco-Roman sculptures from Palmyra, one of the most important ancient sites of the classical era; and a third century religious building that was built at an ancient location.

The institution was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, one year after the beginning of the devastating civil war. Most of the artifacts was transferred and stored at secret locations to safeguard them.

It partially resumed in 2018 and returned to normal in early this year, a month after opposition groups deposed the Assad regime.

Every one of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the conflict.

The Islamic State group destroyed multiple temples and additional edifices at Palmyra, claiming that they were against their beliefs. The cultural organization censured the destruction as a violation.

Numerous cultural items were also destroyed or taken from dig sites and cultural institutions.