(1) Ministry of Antiquities Press Office - more on the mask plus lots of photos.

(1) Ministry of Antiquities Press Office... - Ministry of Antiquities



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A new discovery in the Golden Mask of King Tut
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A huge press conference was held yesterday at the Egyptian Museum to
announce the results of the restoration process of King Tutankhamun' s
famous Mask. Antiquities Minister Dr. Mamdouh Eldamaty who is also the
head of the scientific team responsible for restoring the Mask after a
false restoration last August declared that the Mask will be on display
starting from today 17-12-2015 in its original place in the Museum.

The restoration process revealed, added Eldamaty, a new archaeological
discovery related to the original technique used in manufacturing the
Mask; a gold tube was found inside the royal beard that was used to
install it in the Mask. Another secret was also revealed; the original
material used to fix the royal beard into the mask was the beeswax, the
same material used in this process.

Eldamaty also added that a
scientific study is being prepared now and a book will be published soon
tackling the whole restoration process and the detailed scientific
studies related to the Golden Pharaoh's masterpiece.

In his
presentation, professor Christian Ekmann, head of the scientific German
team has displayed the mechanical technique used in removing the resin
used in the false restoration saying that wooden tools were used in
order not to scratch the gold mask. He also emphasized that no chemical
solvents were used to remove the "epoxy" and separate the royal beard
from the Mask. Then the beard was refastened using beeswax, the same
material used by ancient Egyptians, so that it will be easy to remove in
the future.

© Ministry of Antiquities, Press Office
Wrote Eman Hossni