Mystery Of Rotating Statue Is Solved

20 November 2013, 06:36 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Scientists say they've finally worked out why a 4,000 year old statue at Manchester museum rotates overnight.

The Egyptian statue had curators at Manchester Museum puzzled after it began to mysteriously rotate overnight, despite being housed in a secure glass case.

Neb-Senu is a 10inch (25cm) statuette made in about 1800 BC as a medium for the soul of an ancient Egyptian man.

Explanations for its movement ranged from mystical and magical ancient myths, curses and spirits to the object being possessed.

But, following an investigation, a far more 21st century reason has been unearthed - that the figure rotated as a result of vibrations from passing footfall and traffic.

ITV's Mystery Map, which investigates myths and mysterious stories, enlisted specialists to place sensors under the cabinet to detect vibrations, which dismissed some of the more peculiar claims.

Steve Gosling, a vibration expert, said: 'The vibration is a combination of multiple sources so there's buses outside on the busy road, there's footfall activity. And it's all of those things combined.'

When asked why other displays were not rotating, he added: 'This statue has a convex base. There's a lump at the bottom which makes it more susceptible to vibrations than the others which have a flat base. This is conclusive.'