The 3,400-year-old Nefertiti bust, the source of a dispute between Germany and Egypt, sits in Berlin's Neue Museum. (Fritz Reiss/Associated Press)

Egyptian authorities say they will demand the return of a bust of Queen Nefertiti from Berlin's Neue Museum.

The Cairo-based Supreme Council of Antiquities says it has uncovered evidence that the archeologist who discovered the 3,400-year-old bust deliberately misled Egyptian officials about its true value, according to Bloomberg News.

The council says the diary of Ludwig Borchardt, who unearthed the priceless piece in 1912, shows that he knew it was a bust of the pharaonic-era queen but instead listed it simply as a plaster bust of a princess.

"These materials confirm Egypt's contention that Borchardt did act unethically with the intent to deceive," a statement released by the antiquities council said.

Borchardt, who founded the German Archeological Institute in Cairo in 1907, made a name for himself after finding Nerfertiti's bust. He died in 1938.

Zahi Hawass, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, is slated to meet with Egypt's National Committee for the Return of Stolen Artifacts this week and will then formally ask for the return of the bust.

The request is bound to stir up old battles. German Culture Minister Bernd Neumann has already said that Germany acted lawfully in getting the bust.

Back in 2007, Germany refused to lend the statue to Egypt on the grounds that it was too fragile.

The Egyptian government requested Nefertiti's return as early as 1925. Ten years later, Germany agreed to hand it over, but then Adolf Hitler nixed the deal.