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Ancient sculptures and other artefacts have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, authorities report.

The burglary was noticed on Monday, when staff apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the inside.

The multiple missing pieces were marble creations and originated to the Roman era, one official told the Associated Press.

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

The head of domestic security in the capital area, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as stating that security forces were examining the incident, which he said had focused on several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".

He noted that guards at the institution and additional people were being interviewed.

The Damascus Museum, which was founded in the early twentieth century, contains the most important archaeological collection in the country.

It contains historical records originating to the ancient era from an ancient city, where evidence of the oldest known complete alphabet was discovered; Greco-Roman period ancient art from historical site, among the foremost cultural centres of the classical era; and a third century religious building that was built at another archaeological site.

The institution was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, twelve months after the beginning of the destructive conflict. The majority of the holdings was removed and stored at secure places to safeguard them.

It began limited operations in recent years and returned to normal in early this year, one month after rebel forces deposed the Assad regime.

Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were affected or partly ruined during the civil war.

The militant faction demolished numerous religious structures and additional edifices at the archaeological site, claiming that they were idolatrous. International authorities censured the damage as a violation.

Countless artefacts were also destroyed or stolen from dig sites and collections.