BY LUISA YANEZ

After being unearthed by grave-robbers in Guatemala, sold by black marketeers, shipped in suitcases through Miami, confiscated by Customs and stored in a vault that survived the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, two dozen pre-Columbian artifacts are finally headed home.

On Wednesday, the U.S. government, which fought for six years to reclaim the Mayan artifacts on behalf of Guatemala, returned them at an emotional press conference in Miami.

''It's kind of a miracle they were not destroyed,'' Thomas Winkowski, director of field operations for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol for South Florida, said Wednesday, pointing to the collection of delicate ceramics and rock pieces.

''These artifacts were stolen from the people of Guatemala and we're here today to return them,'' he said.

A grateful delegation of Guatemalan officials thanked the agency for being -- through tragedy and destruction - the artifacts' guardian for six years.

''These pieces have been through so much; they survived a great tragedy. I think they want to go home to Guatemala,'' said honorary Guatemalan consul general George Combaluzier, who was overcome with emotion during the presentation.

Their final stop will be the National Museum of Archaeology and Etymology in Guatemala City.

VALUABLE CACHE

In the past, the U.S. government estimated the cache's value on the black market at $165,000, but Guatemalan officials Wednesday declined to give it a price tag.

''These pieces represent part of our history, of our culture. This is the foundation of our country,'' Combaluzier said. ``They are priceless; you can't give them monetary value.''

Pre-Columbian era artifacts come from the indigenous cultures of the New World in the era before Christopher Columbus and European culture influenced them.

Alexander Urizar, an expert in such cultural treasures and part of the entourage escorting the collection home, said the clay pots, adorned pottery, round jade figures, skeleton heads and flat rock decorated pieces dating from 250 to 1200 A.D. were either used in daily life or for rituals.

He said he suspected some were part of burial offerings and were likely left by gravesites, eventually looted and then sold on the black market.

The story of the artifacts' journey from their homeland to U.S. is the stuff of movies.

It begins on Jan. 5, 1998. Following a tip, U.S. Customs agents at Miami International Airport searched the suitcases of Patrick McSween and Judith Ganeles, two New York residents flying home from Guatemala City, and found the artifacts.

''They insisted they had bought them at an open Indian marketplace and were not valuable,'' Winkowski said. Among the valuable collection, inspectors found newer knickknacks, maybe meant as decoys.

An authenticating process revealed they were pre-Columbian but lacked the documentation required to remove historically significant items from Guatemala.

The artifacts were confiscated and eventually stored in the heavy vault at Custom House, 6 World Trade Center, in the World Trade Center complex. That's where they sat on Sept. 11.

''The towers collapsed on top of that building, whose roof in turn collapsed, v-shape, into the rest of the building,'' Winkowski said.

When the vault was unearthed by crews sifting through the rubble, the artifacts and other items were all intact. Destroyed in the attack, though, were documents related to the ongoing smuggling case the government was preparing against the duo, said Assistant U.S. Attorney William Healy. No charges were filed.

LEGAL BATTLE

In January 2003, with the possibility of smuggling charges eliminated, McSween and Ganeles began fighting efforts by the U.S. government to claim the artifacts. The items were flown to Miami and stored in an air-conditioned warehouse.

But in June of that year, McSween and Ganeles gave up their bid, their New York attorney, Carl Soller, said Wednesday.

''They finally gave up because they realized it would be too financially draining to keep fighting,'' Soller said. He said his clients did not pay as much as the $165,000 estimated value.

''They bought the items in an outdoor marketplace atmosphere, just like anyone would who wanted something representative of a country,'' Soller said.

The artifacts will be flown home soon -- officials would not specify when.

''Out of all this bad, there was something good,'' Winkowski said, smiling.