"Following several days of silence, Syria's ministry of culture yesterday seemed to publish details of artefacts stolen from the Damascus National Museum earlier this week, only to delete the information within hours. This brief statement and its sudden removal have only intensified questions surrounding what was stolen and why the museum was targeted."
"On Wednesday evening at around 8.30pm Damascus time, the news outlet Syria Now images on Facebook showing six statues it claimed were the stolen items. Half an hour later, the ministry of culture posted a notice featuring the same nude marble statues, depicting the goddess Venus, along with their dimensions and catalogue numbers, appealing for public information. However, within hours, the ministry's post was deleted."
"During an assessment of the museum conducted this summer, Unesco did note serious deficiencies in safety provisions,"
"As a response, [Unesco] is currently supporting the Damascus Museum in purchasing surveillance, doors locking and fire alarm systems to implement essential security upgrades aiming to enhance the protection of one storage room only, due to limited resources."
After several days of silence, Syria's ministry of culture briefly published and then removed details about artefacts stolen from the Damascus National Museum. Initial reports said six Roman statues were taken; the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums and the ministry confirmed thefts and an investigation but provided few details. Syria Now posted Facebook images of six statues, and the ministry later posted dimensions and catalogue numbers for nude marble Venus statues before deleting the notice. Museum staff have reportedly been interviewed by security forces and told not to speak. UNESCO noted serious security deficiencies and is supporting limited upgrades for one storage room due to constrained resources.
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
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