Tut, tut! Egyptian Museum takes 'beard-gate' on the chin

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo has admitted one of its greatest treasures, the mask of King Tutankhamun, had been crudely glued back together after being damaged, but insisted it could be restored to its former glory.

The golden mask's beard was detached in August, something the museum had not made public until photographs surfaced on the internet showing a line of glue around its chin.

The beard broke off when museum workers were changing the lights in its display case and accidentally touched the mask, the antiquities ministry said.

However, Christian Eckmann, a German conservator brought in to evaluate the damage, said the seriousness of the damage had been exaggerated.

"The use of epoxy is not the best, but it is a solution," he said. "However, this measure was unfortunately done not really properly, so you can see now some remains of glue."

However, gluing the boy king's beard on is not unprecedented. The beard was not fixed to the mask when it was excavated, Eckmann said, and the artefact was brought to the Egyptian Museum with its beard unattached in 1924.