A 12x7 cm black stone sculpture of Goddess Durga sitting on a lion throne was recovered during an excavation in the Khag area of Budgam in Central Kashmir in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam, said Javaid Ahmad, an official of the Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums.
The sculpture was handed over to the Department of Archaeology, Kashmir by Budgam Police for restoration on November 30, 2021, he added.
"During examination by experts, it was revealed that the sculpture of goddess Durga dates back roughly to 7th-8th AD (about 1300 years old)," Ahmad told ANI.
"The sculpture is having the influence of Gandhara School of Art and the right hand is holding a lotus," he added.
The 8th-century sculpture will be set up in SPS Museum, Srinagar.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor