Investigators solve moving statue puzzle
The mystery surrounding a rotating ancient statue in Manchester has been explained.
An official investigation was launched after a time-lapse video found that the statue, which is on display in the Manchester Museum, would rotate slowly on the spot within its locked glass display case.
The site’s curators were baffled by the movement of the object, which measures 10” and dates back to the 19th Century BC.
Steve Gosling, an expert of vibrations, put a specialised sensor beneath the statue’s glass cabinet and tracked its movement over a period of 24 hours.
When the sensor’s results were analysed, it was found that vibrations created by visitors walking through the museum – as well as those resulting from passing traffic on the road outside – caused the statue to gradually turn on the spot.
As a result, the piece remains still during the night while the museum is closed.
Gosling went on to explain that a small projection on the base of the statue made it much more susceptible to the vibrations than other exhibits.
Prior to the investigation, the centre’s curator of Egyptology, Annie Garnett, said a number of theories had been put forward to explain the strange goings on.
Suggestions of the paranormal – at least while they remain unexplained – provide a great opportunity for museums to drive visitor traffic through professional poster printing, in Manchester and other cities.
Tests on the statue were carried out for the ITV programme Mystery Map, which looks into myths and other mysterious stories from around the world.
An official investigation was launched after a time-lapse video found that the statue, which is on display in the Manchester Museum, would rotate slowly on the spot within its locked glass display case.
The site’s curators were baffled by the movement of the object, which measures 10” and dates back to the 19th Century BC.
Steve Gosling, an expert of vibrations, put a specialised sensor beneath the statue’s glass cabinet and tracked its movement over a period of 24 hours.
When the sensor’s results were analysed, it was found that vibrations created by visitors walking through the museum – as well as those resulting from passing traffic on the road outside – caused the statue to gradually turn on the spot.
As a result, the piece remains still during the night while the museum is closed.
Gosling went on to explain that a small projection on the base of the statue made it much more susceptible to the vibrations than other exhibits.
Prior to the investigation, the centre’s curator of Egyptology, Annie Garnett, said a number of theories had been put forward to explain the strange goings on.
Suggestions of the paranormal – at least while they remain unexplained – provide a great opportunity for museums to drive visitor traffic through professional poster printing, in Manchester and other cities.
Tests on the statue were carried out for the ITV programme Mystery Map, which looks into myths and other mysterious stories from around the world.