A priceless artefact, namely King Tutankhamun’s funeral mask has been damaged at the Cairo Museum. The reason? White epoxy glue.

The mask was recovered in 1922 by British archaeologists Howard Carter and George Herbert and is considered to be one of the most important finds in modern archaeology. The wonderful piece of Ancient Egyptian funeral art was found along with the rest of the tomb, which was surprisingly still intact.

Last summer, however, the mask was damaged and it needed to undergo repairs. The reason behind the damage is still unclear, since some museum staff claim it was broken by cleaners, while others claim that it was intentionally removed since it had become loose.

On Thursday, Cairo museum curators admitted that their restoration attempts were botched.

One curator told Associated Press:

 

“Unfortunately, he used a very irreversible material. Epoxy has a very high property for attaching and is used on metal or stone, but I think it wasn’t suitable for an outstanding and fragile object like Tutankhamun’s golden mask. The mask should have been taken to the conservation lab but they were in a rush to get it displayed quickly again and used this quick drying, irreversible material.”

The curator admitted that there is now a visible gap between the mask’s beard and the mask itself, and there is a layer of transparent yellow, visible to the naked eye.

According to the Telegraph’s online website:

Jackie Rodriguez, a tourist who witnessed the repair work on the beard in late August, provided a photo to The Associated Press showing a museum employee holding it in place as the glue sets.

 

Photos: AP