Ancient Egyptian Statue Mysteriously Rotates at Museum (Video)
An ancient Egyptian statue appears to have started moving on its own, much to the amazement of scientists and museum curators.
The statue of Neb-Senu, believed to date to 1800 B.C., is housed in the Manchester Museum in England — at least for now. But if the statue keeps moving, there's no telling where it will end up.
"I noticed one day that it had turned around," museum curator Campbell Price told theManchester Evening News. "I thought it was strange because it is in a case and I am the only one who has a key.
"I put it back, but then the next day it had moved again," Price said. "We set up a time-lapse video and, although the naked eye can't see it, you can clearly see it rotate." [In Photos: Ancient Egyptian Skeletons Unearthed]
The 10-inch (25 centimeters) statue was acquired by the museum in 1933, according to the New York Daily News. The video clearly shows the artifact slowly turning counterclockwise during the day, but remaining stationary at night.
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| The Neb-Senu statue has been part of the museum’s collection since 1933. |
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"But it has been on those surfaces since we have had it and it has never moved before," Price said. "And why would it go around in a perfect circle?"This daytime movement led British physicist Brian Cox to believe the statue's movement is due to the vibration created by museum visitors' footsteps. "Brian thinks it's 'differential friction,' where two surfaces — the stone of the statuette and glass shelf it is on — cause a subtle vibration, which is making the statuette turn," Price said.
Early scientists who explored the tombs feared the “curse of the Pharaohs,” though Price wrote on his blog that “most Egyptologists are not superstitious people.” He suggested in February a test to apply wax to the bottom of the Neb-Senu statue to see if it continued to move.
“The statuette is something that used to go in the tomb along with the mummy,” said Price. “Mourners would lay offerings at its feet. The hieroglyphics on the back ask for ‘bread, beer and beef’. In Ancient Egypt they believed that if the mummy is destroyed then the statuette can act as an alternative vessel for the spirit. Maybe that is what is causing the movement.”
“The statuette is something that used to go in the tomb along with the mummy,” said Price. “Mourners would lay offerings at its feet. The hieroglyphics on the back ask for ‘bread, beer and beef’. In Ancient Egypt they believed that if the mummy is destroyed then the statuette can act as an alternative vessel for the spirit. Maybe that is what is causing the movement.”
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Pharaoh's curse: Why that ancient Egyptian statue moves on its own
NBCNews.com (blog)-by -7 hours agoAn ancient Egyptian statue appears to have started moving on its own, much to the amazement of scientists and museum curators. The statue ...Ancient Egyptian statue at Manchester Museum moves on its own ...
New York Daily News-16 hours agoThe pharaoh's curse has struck again. A millenia-old, 10-inch-tall statuette has Manchester Museum employees stumped after it did a total ...Ancient Egyptian Statue Moves On Its Own
Huffington Post-18 hours agoStaff at the Manchester Museum in Manchester, England say a 4,000-year-old ancient Egyptian statue, recovered from a mummy's tomb, has been spinning ...Ancient Egyptian statue appears to move on its own at Manchester ...
Metro-22 hours agoEerie footage of an ancient Egyptian statuette slowly turning without any apparent help at Manchester Museum has emerged. The 25cm (10ins) ...Ancient Egyptian Statue Mysteriously Rotates at Museum
ABC News (blog)-18 hours agoAn ancient Egyptian statue in a British museum has sparked debate after ... The resulting time-lapse video, Price says, shows the statue moving ...Phenomenon: Egyptian mummy statue moves by itself
Irish Independent-9 hours agoPhenomenon: Egyptian mummy statue moves by itself. Comments ... A time lapse video showing a relic almost 4,000-years old moving on its own. Credit: ...Ancient Egyptian statue starts moving
The Nation-Jun 23, 2013MANCHESTER The Sun - An Egyptian relic has mysteriously started moving in a museum - prompting fears an ancient angry spirit could be ...4000-year-old Egyptian statue in UK museum moves on its own
Oneindia-Jun 24, 2013London, June 24: Curse of the spinning statue! In some eerie news, a 4,000-year-old Egyptian statuehas puzzled curators at Manchester ...Watch time-lapse video of 4000-year-old Egyptian statue moving on ...
Emirates 24/7-9 hours agoFor the moment though a 10-inch Egyptian statuette at the Manchester Museum in the UK has archaeologists, museum directors, Egyptologists ...Ancient Egyptian statue spins on its own
CBS News-16 hours agoAncient Egyptian statue spins on its own at Manchester Museum ... on a glass shelf for decades, but only started moving earlier this year.
