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Eight Charged With Sloppy Repair Of King Tutankhamun's Damaged Beard

By R. Siva Kumar | Update Date: Jan 26, 2016 10:46 AM EST

Sometimes, King Tutankhamun can get a close shave.

There were eight museum employees who ripped off his beard on a funerary mask and did a sloppy repair job, said Egyptian authorities Sunday.

How did the artifact's 3,300-year-old beard break, as the damage was revealed in 2014? Various sources have differing views. One person said that the mask had fallen during cleaning while another opined that it had "loosened with age", reported CNN.

The group tried to camouflage the damage with epoxy glue that could reattach the beard, even as metal tools were used to remove parts of the glue that were visible.

The museum officials said the claims of damage were unfolded. A scratch was found on the mask, which the prosecutors examined in 2014 and opened an investigation into the damage, accusing the workers of not following the protocol during the investigation.

"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 announced, according to the Daily News.

The accused included the former directors of the museum, restoration, four senior restoration experts and two restorers. Following the investigation, they were all removed from their jobs pending the results.

Meanwhile, German experts repaired the beard and reattached it with a professional adhesive used for antiquities---just beeswax!

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