Number of posts : 4993 Age : 47 Location : Here Humor : Dry and Wet Registration date : 2009-01-23
Subject: Ancient Egyptian statue rotates on its own Mon Jun 24, 2013 3:03 pm
Ancient Egyptian statue rotates on its own
Timelapse footage of Manchester Museum's spinning statuette, taken over a week long period.
An ancient Egyptian statuette that slowly turns without any apparent outside help in a museum in Manchester, England, has locals spookily talking about the curse of the pharoahs. The 25 centimetre-high relic, an offering to the Egyptian God Osiris, was found in a mummy's tomb and has been at the Manchester Museum for 80 years. In recent weeks it has become the cause for consternation after repeatedly being found facing the wrong way. Time-lapse video of the statue of a man named Neb-Senu showed it rotating slowly by day, while staying still at night. Some scientists have suggested the rotation is due to vibrations caused by footsteps of passing visitors. That's the theory favoured by British television physicist Brian Cox, who teaches at Manchester's university. Manchester Museum curator Campbell Price, an Egyptologist, favours a more exotic theory, saying there may be a spiritual explanation for the turning statue. "I noticed one day that it had turned around. I thought it was strange because it is in a case and I am the only one who has a key," Price told the Manchester Evening News. "I put it back but then the next day it had moved again. We set up a time-lapse video and, although the naked eye can't see it, you can clearly see it rotate on the film. The statuette is something that used to go in the tomb along with the mummy. "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," Price said. "Brian [Cox] thinks it's differential friction," he said. "Where two surfaces – the serpentine stone of the statuette and the glass shelf it is on – cause a subtle vibration which is making the statuette turn. "But it has been on those surfaces since we have had it and it has never moved before. And why would it go around in a perfect circle?" With a showman's touch, Price is urging members of the public to visit the museum to see for themselves. "It would be great if someone could solve the mystery." he said. - Fairfax NZ News
Number of posts : 1827 Age : 71 Location : UK Humor : yes lots Registration date : 2010-12-18
Subject: Re: Ancient Egyptian statue rotates on its own Tue Jun 25, 2013 2:02 am
Sorry to burst your bubble here guys, but as I was reading about this yesterday (in another paper) I was scepetical about this. Now the killer for me in this article is this line....Price is urging members of the public to visit the museum to see for themselves.
Now I live in Manchester and I know that the Museum gets very little in the way of visitors each day. So the sceptic in me says 'somebody' is messing with our heads here in order to get the public to go 'see it for themselves'.
In other words, bump up the amount of people thru the doors to gain some revenue for the ailing place. I guess they have to do something in order to quantify the yearly funding it gets to run the place....lol
Yes, they used to charge you to get in, until public outcry returned it to free entrance once more. BUT, since this episode, they did open up a very expensive gift shop in there and this gets a lot of hits from tourists etc.
I so wish I couldn't see through these things...
micjer Senior Member
Number of posts : 5325 Age : 63 Location : canada Registration date : 2009-01-23
Subject: Re: Ancient Egyptian statue rotates on its own Tue Jun 25, 2013 9:13 am
skywatcher Senior Member
Number of posts : 1827 Age : 71 Location : UK Humor : yes lots Registration date : 2010-12-18
Subject: Re: Ancient Egyptian statue rotates on its own Tue Jun 25, 2013 11:06 am
sorry mic
Reunite Moderator
Number of posts : 4993 Age : 47 Location : Here Humor : Dry and Wet Registration date : 2009-01-23
Subject: Re: Ancient Egyptian statue rotates on its own Tue Jun 25, 2013 2:51 pm
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Subject: Re: Ancient Egyptian statue rotates on its own
Mon Jun 24, 2013 3:03 pm
Fairfax NZ News
