A MYSTERIOUS face in Salisbury’s copy of the Magna Carta is leaving experts bamboozled.

The optical illusion has only appeared since the new exhibition opened at the cathedral and the document was rotated 180 degrees.

A chin and nose are clearly visible. However the rest of the face is less defined and fades away.

Visitors have been snapping pictures of the face on smartphones.

The illusion is believed to have been caused by the folds in the documents. It is has now been dubbed the “Turin Shroud” of Salisbury.

Cathedral volunteer Peter Wells said: “It first appeared on St Patrick’s Day and can be best seen when the sun shines on to it at around midday.

“It is just so weird that the Magna Carta has been here for 800 years but nobody has noticed this until now.”

Seif El Rashidi, Salisbury Cathedral’s Magna Carta programme manager, said: “We moved the document to a new frame, which is made out of thin glass. It means visitors can see it more clearly.

“I have noticed comments in the visitor book about it and the volunteers are saying that it looks like a monk.

“It is actually caused by ripples in the parchment which couldn’t be seen with the old frame. It is our own ‘man in the moon’.”

The new exhibition, Magna Carta – Spirit of Justice, Power of Words, opened last month after being funded by a £415,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The Salisbury manuscript is regarded as the best preserved copy of the 1215 document and has remained in city for the vast majority of its history.

— only being removed for safekeeping in the Second World War and for the unification event in February.