8 face court over marred Tut mask

Eight Egyptians involved in a botched repair of the burial mask of King Tut, which was corrected late last year, were referred to a disciplinary court for “gross negligence” after prosecutors said that the golden treasure was scratched.

The 3,300-year-old mask, whose beard was accidentally knocked off and hastily glued on with epoxy in 2014, was scratched and damaged as a result of the amateur repair job, prosecutors said in a statement, which implicated the then-head of the Egyptian Museum and the chief of the restoration department.

The eight now face fines and disciplinary measures including dismissal.

A German-Egyptian team of specialists removed the epoxy and reattached the beard using beeswax.