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.

The Neb-Senu statue has been part of the museum’s collection since 1933.

LUKE LOVELOCK VIA YOUTUBE

"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.”