King Tut Beard: What's The Commotion About?

King Tut's beard is definitely the least of our worries... or so we think. Apparently, as ironic as it may sound but the beard of the late Egyptian pharaoh - or at least the one that's part of his mask - is making headlines after it was damaged during a cleaning attempt.

According to Huffington Post, the gold funerary mask of King Tutankhamun at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo got damaged while it was being cleaned. Not only that, the efforts to repair King Tut's beard have been very futile.

King Tut's beard reportedly got damaged back in October when it snapped off the precious relic while it as being cleaned and polished.

What the Museum staff did following which was even more depressing. They actually stuck it back on using epoxy, which unfortunately leaked onto the lower facial area and quickly dried up.

Then, as if that wasn't the worst part there, when the Museum workers tried to scrape off the epoxy, they scratched one of the finest treasures in archaeology.

"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," one conservator said.

The conservator added that right now there is an obvious gap between the face and the beard. He even noted that "now you can see a layer of transparent yellow" on the damaged area, The Telegraph has learned.

Per several local reports, the lighting in the room where King Tut's gold funerary mask is being displayed has been dimmed to hide the damage from the visitors.

Insiders even claim that the incident was kept confidential for the most part for fear of reprisals.

But there are things that just can't be concealed for forever. "From the photos circulating among restorers I can see that the mask has been repaired, but you can't tell with what," Egyptologist Tom Hardwick said.

"Everything of that age needs a bit more attention, so such a repair will be highly scrutinized." he added.

Neither the Antiquities Ministry nor the administration of the Egyptian Museum could be reached for comment by the media, reports the Wall Street Journal.