Missing hero stone worries Goa archaeologists

The stone was last seen a fortnight ago by a group of trekkers at Nagve village, the state Archives and Archaeology department said.

The hero stone, locally known as 'Veergal', had a battle scene inscribed on it and the lower portion had funeral pyre with Hero's body shown along with his wife, who was about to jump in the pyre.

Renowned history expert Rajendra Kerkar said that a researcher Sanket Naik had gone to the place in Nagve village this Wednesday and found the stone to be missing. The state archaeology department was immediately informed about it.

Assistant Superintendent Archaeologist M S Deshpande said that the department is probing into the incident.

"It is possible that some museum authorities may have stolen it," he said.

Kerkar said that the hero stone belongs to later Kadamba period and is more than a metre long.

The topmost portion of this memorial stone had the depiction of sun and moon on the either side, which signifies the belief that the memory of this hero will remain unless and until the sun and moos are there in the sky, he said.