Earlier, vandals damaged the statue several times.
A bronze sculpture of the Colchian goddess, a copy of an artifact of the 8th century BC, was stolen from the territory of the Dadiani State Historical and Architectural Museum in Georgia.
According to the Georgian edition of OdishiNews, the theft was discovered on Saturday, February 5, by museum staff during a morning tour of the territory.
Installed in 2018, the bronze sculpture “Kolkhish Nana” has previously been the target of vandals who call themselves fighters against “idolatry”. It was damaged several times by being thrown off the pedestal. The destroyers of the sculpture then left a note explaining such actions.
Now the statue has disappeared, the Georgian police are looking for it, studying the recordings of surveillance cameras.
The bronze sculpture is a copy of an archaeological find discovered during excavations in the village of Tsaishi of the Zugdidi municipality in 2005. This artifact was created in the first half of the 8th century BC. The prototype of the Colchian goddess was probably the Phrygian deity Cybele.
Earlier, Taliban militants targeted rock niches in the Afghan city of Bamiani, where giant Buddha statues used to stand – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – for shooting practice.
