German restorer Christian Eckmann begins restoration work on the golden mask of King Tutankhamun over a year after the beard was accidentally broken off and hastily glued back with epoxy, at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. The 3,300-year-old burial pharaonic mask was discovered in Tutankhamun's tomb along with other artifacts by British archeologists in 1922, sparking worldwide interest in archaeology and ancient Egypt. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
The Associated Press
CAIRO (AP) - Restoration of the famed golden mask of Tutankhamun is underway in Cairo, over a year after the beard was accidentally knocked off and hastily glued back with epoxy.
A German-Egyptian team of experts showed off the mask in a laboratory Tuesday in the Egyptian Museum, detailing plans for how the glue will be scraped off and the beard carefully removed before being reattached by a method to be determined by a scientific committee.
Christian Eckmann, the lead restoration specialist, said the work should take a month or two, depending on how long it takes to remove the beard.
The mask is arguably the best-known piece in the museum, one of Cairo's main tourist sites, which was built in 1902 and houses ancient Egyptian artifacts and mummies.
German restorer Christian Eckmann examines the beard of the golden mask of the famed King Tutankhamun as an Egyptian-German team begins restoration work over a year after the beard was accidentally broken off and hastily glued back with epoxy, at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. The 3,300-year-old burial pharaonic mask was discovered in Tutankhamun's tomb along with other artifacts by British archeologists in 1922, sparking worldwide interest in archaeology and ancient Egypt. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
The Associated Press
German restorer Christian Eckmann examines the beard of the golden mask of King Tutankhamun as an Egyptian-German team begins restoration work over a year after the beard was accidentally broken off and hastily glued back with epoxy, at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. The 3,300-year-old burial pharaonic mask was discovered in Tutankhamun's tomb along with other artifacts by British archeologists in 1922, sparking worldwide interest in archaeology and ancient Egypt. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
The Associated Press
German restorer Christian Eckmann examines the beard of the famed golden mask of King Tutankhamun as an Egyptian-German team begins restoration work over a year after the beard was accidentally broken off and hastily glued back with epoxy, at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. The 3,300-year-old burial pharaonic mask was discovered in Tutankhamun's tomb along with other artifacts by British archeologists in 1922, sparking worldwide interest in archaeology and ancient Egypt. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
The Associated Press
Members of an Egyptian-German restoration team remove a foam cover from the golden mask of the famed King Tutankhamun before beginning restoration work over a year after the beard was accidentally broken off and hastily glued back with epoxy, at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. The 3,300-year-old burial pharaonic mask was discovered in Tutankhamun's tomb along with other artifacts by British archeologists in 1922, sparking worldwide interest in archaeology and ancient Egypt. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
The Associated Press
German restorers Christian Eckmann and Katja Broschat begin work on the restoration of the famed golden mask of King Tutankhamun at the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
The Associated Press