The Department of Archaeology on Wednesday received four Nepali artefacts from the United States that were stolen and taken away years ago.

The artefacts include two gilded Bhairav masks (mukhundos) and two sculptures, one each of Uma-Maheshwara and Durga.

The mukhundos dating back to the 16th century were stolen from Bhimeshwar Municipality-2 of Dolakha on March 6, 1994. The artefacts reached the Dallas Museum of Arts and Rubin Museum of Arts through different means, the department said in a statement.

Likewise, the sculpture Uma-Maheshwara dating back to the 16th century was stolen from a falcha, a traditional resting place, in Ombahal, Patan in the 80s and landed in the Brooklyn Museum.

The sculpture of Durga that dates back to the 17th-18th century was stolen from Hanuman Ghat, Bhaktapur.

The artefacts were returned to Nepal as per international laws after the department certified their origin.

On December 4, the United States handed over the stolen artefacts to the Consulate General of Nepal in New York.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said three of the pieces were recovered under several ongoing investigations into trafficking networks targeting Nepali antiquities.

One artefact was seized under an investigation against Subhash Kapoor, allegedly a looter who helped traffic items from Afghanistan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and other countries.

Earlier, a total of 145 artefacts from the United Kingdom, Austria, the United States, China, India, Germany, Australia and Italy were returned with the efforts of various organisations and individuals, the department said.

The department said diplomatic efforts are being made to return other artefacts from countries including the United States, France, Britain and Australia.