Afghanistan, Kabul, 10 September / Trend corr. A.Hakimi / The chairman of the Historical Monuments Protection Department in Kandahar Region of Afghanistan, said that they prevented smuggling of Buddha monument with 2,000-year old history from the country. He said that the historical monument was withdrawn from smugglers in Sanzeri village of Kandahar Region.
Smugglers of antique monument were arrested when they tried to sell Buddha monument at $200,000, Trend correspondent reported from Kabul.
Majority of historical work was taken out of the country and sold during five-year power of the Taliban rebels in Afghanistan.
Officials said great Buddha's statue with the height of 19 meters, was discovered in Bamyam Region of Afghanistan.
According to Najib Ahraz, the chairman of the Historical Monuments Protection Department of Bamyam Region, the French and Afghani archeologists found Buddha's monument during exploration work.
Ahraz said that the discovered Buddha's monument belonged to the 3rd or 4th centuries. "Right hand and neck part of the monument did not suffer, whilst some parts of the statue were damaged," Ahraz said. He added that the discovered rare monuments would be exhibited in 2009.
Bamyan city is one of historical cities of Afghanistan, located in the centre of the country. This city was a center of Buddhists in the first century.
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