Machu Picchu relics set to return home

The final batch of ancient Machu Picchu artefacts currently housed in North America will return to Peru before the end of the year, according to Peru's ministry of culture.

Two previous batches containing ceramics and metal pieces have already been sent back to Machu Picchu from Yale University in Connecticut, with the third and last shipment expected to be repatriated in December.

The third and final consignment is believed to hold extremely fragile ceramic artefacts, which will be despatched to Jorge Chavez Airport in Lima before taking a short flight to Cusco - the nearest hub to the Unesco World Heritage site.

Blanca Alva Guerrero, Peru's culture minister, told the Andina News Agency: "The latest instalment will arrive in December this year. It will be delivered directly to Cusco because it is pottery fragments."

She added that the Peruvian State was covering the costs to bring the ancient relics back to their spiritual home, but Yale University would cover the management costs to display the artefacts at the refurbished Casa Concha Museum.