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Valuable sculptures and cultural objects have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, officials say.

The burglary was found on the start of the week, when museum workers reportedly found that a doorway had been forced from the interior.

The six missing pieces were crafted from marble and dated back to the ancient Roman times, a source told the Associated Press.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had opened an investigation to determine the "events surrounding the disappearance of a collection of items", and that actions had been enacted to strengthen safeguarding and observation methods.

The director of national security in the capital area, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as declaring that security forces were investigating the theft, which he said had focused on several "ancient sculptures and unique items".

He continued that security personnel at the institution and additional people were being interrogated.

The cultural institution, which was created in the early twentieth century, holds the most important cultural treasures in Syria.

It includes ancient inscribed tablets dating back to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where indications of the earliest linguistic system was uncovered; early centuries CE classical statues from the ancient city, one of the most important ancient sites of the ancient world; and a third century synagogue that was constructed at Dura Europos.

The facility was compelled to shut in 2012, one year after the start of the destructive conflict. Most of the holdings was transferred and preserved at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.

It reopened partially in recent years and completely reopened in the beginning of the year, a month after opposition groups deposed the Assad regime.

Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were affected or significantly impacted during the internal struggle.

The militant faction destroyed multiple ancient buildings and other structures at the archaeological site, stating that they were un-Islamic. Unesco denounced the destruction as a war crime.

Many artefacts were also destroyed or looted from archaeological sites and museums.