14 Nov 2012

Last artefacts from Machu Picchu returned

9:11 am on 14 November 2012

The last artefacts taken from the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu 100 years ago have been returned to Peru.

More than 35,000 pottery fragments and other pieces have been flown from Yale University to the city of Cusco.

They were taken to the United States by Hiram Bingham, an archaeologist who brought the site to international attention in 1911. He took some 46,000 ceramics, bone fragments and metal pieces to Yale.

The first and second lots of artefacts arrived back in Peru last year after a deal was signed in 2010.

The BBC reports the best pieces will now be on display in a new museum in Cusco.

Machu Picchu was built in the 15th Century by the Incas. The site, 2500m above sea level, is Peru's main tourist attraction, attracting more than 1 million visitors per year.