Bolivia recovers 21 archaeological artefacts in Germany

Bolivia has recovered 21 archaeological artifacts in Germany which are suspected to belong to the legendary Tiahuanaco culture and others from eastern Bolivian cultures, President Evo Morales said Tuesday.

"Thanks to some German brothers with a conscience, they decided to return these archaeological pieces from the Altiplano (Bolivia's highlands) and also eastern Bolivia. We greet them and thank them," said the president during a public event in the presidential residency.

According to Morales, these artifacts are already inside the Bolivian Embassy in Germany after the Foreign Ministry of the South American country made the necessary arrangements to recover the pieces.

Morales announced that he may travel to the European country in the presidential plane in order to transport the 21 pieces back to Bolivia.

The Culture Ministry noted that these archaeological pieces that belong to the Inca and Tiahuanaco cultures were in private hands in Germany.

The items were in the possession of Tobias Wagnerberger in Munich. He had inherited them from his grandfather, German photographer, cameraman, writer and war correspondent, Hans Ertl.

Morales said these pieces were taken from the South American country by German citizens that arrived in Bolivia after the Second World War.

Ertl, the explorer, moved to Bolivia with his family once the war had ended, like many other Germans in the 1950s.

Morales said his "great wish" is that Bolivia will have a suitable place to put these artifacts, which could be in La Paz or Tiahuanaco.

He was convinced that Bolivia would continue recovering more archaeological items from other countries. Endit