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Antiquities expert says King Tut mask can be restored after beard reattached with epoxy

Associated Press
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A detail of the gold mask of King Tutankhamun showing where the beard is attached is seen in a glass case during a press tour, in the Egyptian Museum near Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. German restoration specialist, Christian Eckmann, summoned to Cairo to examine the damaged burial mask, spoke at a packed news conference Saturday at the Egyptian museum, saying that epoxy used to glue the mask's beard back on can be removed and the mask properly restored. Eckmann said the beard, which has been detached before from the mask and had likely loosened over the years, was accidentally knocked off last August during work on the relic’s lighting. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) (The Associated Press)

The gold mask of King Tutankhamun is seen in a glass case during a press tour, in the Egyptian Museum near Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. German restoration specialist, Christian Eckmann, summoned to Cairo to examine the damaged burial mask, spoke at a packed news conference Saturday at the Egyptian museum, saying that epoxy used to glue the mask's beard back on can be removed and the mask properly restored. Eckmann said the beard, which has been detached before from the mask and had likely loosened over the years, was accidentally knocked off last August during work on the relic’s lighting. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) (The Associated Press)

The gold mask of King Tutankhamun is seen in a glass case during a press tour, in the Egyptian Museum near Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. German restoration specialist, Christian Eckmann, summoned to Cairo to examine the damaged burial mask, spoke at a packed news conference Saturday at the Egyptian museum, saying that epoxy used to glue the mask's beard back on can be removed and the mask properly restored. Eckmann said the beard, which has been detached before from the mask and had likely loosened over the years, was accidentally knocked off last August during work on the relic’s lighting. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) (The Associated Press)

A German expert summoned to Cairo to examine the damaged burial mask of King Tutankhamun says that epoxy used to glue the mask's beard back on can be removed and the mask properly restored.

Speaking at a packed news conference Saturday at the Egyptian museum, restoration specialist Christian Eckmann said the beard, which had been detached before from the mask in the past, had been accidentally knocked off last August during work on the relic's lighting.

He says that a committee of experts consisting of conservators, archeologists and natural scientists will develop a plan to restore the beard, glued back on with an unknown type of epoxy.

A scratch discovered on the mask is visible, he says, but it was unclear when the mark was made.