Eight Egyptian Museum Employees to Be Tried For Botched Tutankhamun Mask Repair Job

Eight Egyptian Museum employees have been formally charged with professional negligence by the Administrative Prosecution (AP) following a yearlong investigation into the botched Tutankhamun mask beard repair job.

The priceless 3,000-year-old artefact is believed to have been damaged by the employees' mishandling and mistreatment which resulted in the detachment of the king’s blue and gold braided beard. Museum workers then tried to glue it back on using excessive amounts of epoxy glue which only exacerbated the damage as their attempts to remove the glue left irreversible scratch marks. They allegedly made four attempts to conceal the damage.

The defendants include two restorers, four senior restoration experts, former Director of Restoration and the former Director of the Egyptian Museum.      

“Ignoring all scientific methods of restoration, the suspects tried to conceal their crime by using sharp metal tools to remove parts of the glue that became visible, thus damaging the 3,000-year-old piece without a moment of conscience,” prosecutors stated according to Daily News Egypt.   

The piece was successfully restored by a German-led team of conservators after which the boy king’s burial mask was put back on display at the Egyptian Museum in December of 2014.  

(Photo: Getty Images)