German authorities have disallowed the relocation of an ancient Egyptian bust of Queen Nerfertiti over fears it is too fragile to travel .

Bust of queen Nefertiti in the Altes Museum, B...

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The announcement is the latest development in a long-term debate between Egypt and Germany over the rightful home of the 3,500-year-old artefact.

Nefertiti is currently housed in the Neues Museum in Berlin, where it is one of the cultural attraction’s most prominent pieces.

The bust’s state of preservation was tested in 2007, when it was first ruled unfit for transportation.

The Prussian Heritage Foundation, parent corporation of the museum, said in a statement that new tests indicate that the artefact is still too fragile to fly to Egypt, even for a temporary exhibition.

The legality of the bust’s removal from Egypt has been questioned by its head of antiquities Zahi Hawass, who claims the artefact was smuggled out of the country in 1913 by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt.

German officials, meanwhile, maintain that Germany’s original acquisition of the piece was lawful.

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