The braided beard on the burial mask of Pharaoh Tutankhamun was damaged after it was hastily superglued back on last year after it became detached.
Speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals, conservators at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo said that the blue and gold beard had become detached during cleaning and staff had quickly superglued it back in place.
However, the wrong type of glue was used for the rushed repair, and caused damage to the 3,300-year-old mask, with a layer of transparent yellow now visible between the face and beard, where no gap was previously present.
CBS News reports that scratches were also made to the burial mask, when those attempting to make the repairs tried to scratch off remnants of dried superglue around the affected area.
Tutankhamun’s mask and other contents from his tomb are the top exhibits at the Cairo museum, which some archaeologist complain does not conform to professional standards.
Tutankhamun, often referred to as “King Tut” was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty and ruled between 1332 and 1323 BC. His tomb was discovered nearly fully intact by Howard Carter and George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, in 1922, and his name entered popular folklore with rumours of the “Cure of King Tut”, with many of the expedition dying soon after the discovery.
