The Singing Statue of Memnon
For two centuries, one of two giant stone statues in Egypt gave out a soft, musical sound at dawn.
What was reported
On the west bank of the Nile at Luxor stand two huge seated statues of the pharaoh Amenhotep III, about 3,400 years old. After an earthquake around 27 BCE cracked the northern statue, travellers reported that it made a sound at sunrise, like a lyre string snapping or a soft moan.
Greeks and Romans believed it was Memnon, a hero of the Trojan War, greeting his mother, the dawn. Visitors carved more than a hundred inscriptions on its legs recording that they had heard it, including members of the emperor Hadrian's party in 130 CE.
Explanations offered
The sound stopped after the statue was repaired, probably under the emperor Septimius Severus around 200 CE. Scientists think the sun warming the cracked stone at dawn, and dew evaporating from inside the cracks, made the stone vibrate. Once the cracks were sealed, the statue fell silent.
- When
- About 27 BCE to 200 CE
- Where
- Luxor (ancient Thebes), Egypt
- Witnesses
- Greek and Roman travellers, including an emperor
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.