The National Museum welcomed 33 ceramic archaeological pieces that were in a private collection in the United States.

The objects made by the first people in Costa Rica before the arrival of the Spanish conquerors in the 16th century are made up of small and medium-sized vessels, musical instruments, human figures and ceramic fragments. The pieces are estimated to be over 2,000 years old.

However, among the pieces, experts discovered three replicas that were recently made, the museum said in its statement.

The pieces were identified by museum archaeologist experts that specialize in the first people of the region of what is now the Caribbean Coast.

The collection had been kept for almost 10 years in a security vault at the Costa Rica International Bank, BICSA, under the custody of the Costa Rican consulate in Miami, Fl.

According to Ifigenia Quintanilla, director of the museum, the collection of artifacts shipping was $3,800, which was paid with budgets from the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Extra shipping cost was donated by the Ocean Logistics company and the cargo insurance was covered by the National Insurance Institute, Quintanilla said.

"These artifacts are an invaluable treasure that we hope will soon be displayed at the museum," said Nayuribe Guadamuz Rosales, Minister of Culture.

Guadamuz reported that since 2020 some attempts have been made to repatriate the pieces. But it was not until this year, when BICSA bank closed its offices in Miami, USA, that the pieces were under the care of the Costa Rican Consulate in Florida.

Now, these objects are part of the national archaeological heritage.

This is the second shipment of archaeological pieces recovered since last year. In June 2021, a batch of 1,305 pre-Columbian pieces from the Brooklyn Museum in the U.S. was repatriated to Costa Rica.

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