Cairo — Thirty-six historical artifacts illegally removed from Egypt have been recovered from the United States in cooperation with U.S. authorities, Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said Thursday.

"The artifacts were handed over by the American authorities to the Egyptian Embassy in the U.S., and they arrived in Egypt about two weeks ago," Nevine El-Aref, the ministry's media adviser, told CBS News.

Three main sets of artifacts were recovered, the first consisting of 11 items handed over by the New York State Attorney General's office. Among them is a mummy burial mask that belonged to a young man from the Roman era, a vessel in the shape of the god Bes, and a limestone funerary stelae, an inscribed tablet, also from the Roman period.

In May, the Manhattan District Attor

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