HYDERABAD: An 800-year-old Nandi sculpture dating back to the Kakatiya period has been found neglected among bushes along a roadside at Jakkileru village in Makthal mandal of Narayanpet district in Telangana. Archaeologist and Pleach India Foundation CEO Dr E Sivanagireddy visited the site on Monday after heritage activists K Bhaskar Goud and Dr G Mahendar Reddy alerted him about the sculpture.
Sivanagireddy said the black basalt sculpture was originally placed inside the Rangamandapa of a 13th-century temple complex comprising three shrines. It was reportedly broken into two pieces by miscreants and thrown out of the temple. Since then, it has remained unattended among the bushes.
The Nandi sculpture measures five feet in length, three feet in width and 3.5 feet in height, he said. He added that it reflects the craftsmanship of Kakatiya sculptors.
