According to the Associated Press, the 3,300-year-old burial mask of pharaoh Tutankhamun, one of the most prized artifacts at the at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, was irreversibly damaged last year during a bout of overzealous spatulating.

Museum officials confirmed to the AP via phone that the famous blue-and-gold braided beard on Tutankhamun’s mask had been removed, although the three conservators in question gave differing accounts as to whether the mask was damaged during a routine cleaning or if the beard was intentionally taken off as a precautionary measure after becoming loose: “They agree however that orders came from above to fix it quickly and that an inappropriate adhesive was used. All spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of professional reprisals.”

One conservator explained,

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 object like Tutankhamun’s golden mask.

Yep, one of the few things the conservators agree on is that this unknown “he” or “they” really made love to the pooch with this repair job:

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.

Another conservator, who claims to have been present at the time of repairs, said a colleague attempted to remove epoxy from the Pharaoh’s face using a spatula, leaving scratches. According to museum officials, there’s now an obvious crack in Tutankhamun’s mask between the face and beard, and “you can see a layer of transparent yellow.”

An investigation is apparently underway, although the AP could not reach the museum administration or Antiquities Ministry for comment. I guess they want to keep this…under wraps.

(via io9, image via v.williams46 on Flickr)

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