Peru Starts Receiving Machu Picchu Artifacts Held by Yale

Published December 16, 2016

Centuries-old Inca artifacts taken from Machu Picchu a century ago have started arriving in Peru. (AP)

Centuries-old Inca artifacts taken from Machu Picchu a century ago have started arriving in Peru.

Peru's Culture Ministry says the first 366 archaeological artifacts have arrived in Cuzco, a jumping-off point for tourists visiting the Inca ruins. They include pieces of ceramic, bronze, copper and a skeleton.

After a bitter dispute that dragged on for years – and prompted a lawsuit – Yale University agreed earlier this year to return the artifacts. They had been taken from the site by Hiram Bingham, the man who rediscovered the citadel for the outside world. Peru had been demanding their return for years.

They will be displayed in a colonial-era building in Cuzco. Thousands of other artifacts are being returned later.

The Machu Picchu ruins, sitting 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) above sea level on an Andean mountaintop, are Peru's most famous tourist attraction.

Based on a story by The Associated Press.

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