Scientists help mummy to talk like an Egyptian after 3,000 years
WHEN Egyptian priest Nesyamun died more than 3,000 years ago his last wish was that he be allowed to speak in the afterlife so he could address his gods, and be granted entry into eternity.
Now, with the help of science, the holy man has indeed found his voice after death.
Academics at Royal Holloway, University of London, the University of York and Leeds Museum scanned the mummy of Nesyamum, 3D-printed his vocal tract then played soundwaves through it to create an impression of how the priest might have sounded.
So far, the only noise they’ve created is a nondescript bleat, sounding something like “beh”, but the researchers are hoping to use computer modelling to recreate words and even sentences.
The experts said it allowed people to “make direct contact with ancient Egypt by listening to a sound from a vocal tract that has not been heard for over 3,000 years”. And they want to eventually try the technique on other famous “heads”, and give voice to notable figures.
Nesyamum’s last request was written in hieroglyphics on his coffin.
Asked how he felt on hearing the priest “speak”, Prof John Schofield from the University of York, told The Telegraph: “Incredible. The project team were all together when we heard the sound for the first time.
“For me it felt a bit like shining the torch into Tutankhamun’s tomb and seeing something that hadn’t been seen in thousands of years.
“This is just the sound created with the head at an unnatural angle. It is proof of a concept from which we can develop additional vowel sounds using computer modelling.
“First we plan to stick with Nesyamun and hope to reach a stage where a range of sounds can be recreated. We will then look at the possibility of creating words and sentences.
“And at that point we might look at other human remains which share this quality of soft tissue preservation.” Nesyamun was a priest, incense-bearer and scribe at the ancient temple complex of Karnak – modern Luxor – who lived during the politically volatile reign of pharaoh Ramses XI, between 1099 and 1069 BC.
Working in the temple would have required singing and chanting duties.
Earlier studies, in which Nesyamun was unwrapped, showed he had died in his mid-50s and had suffered from gum disease and severely worn teeth.
He is often known as the Leeds Mummy, because he has resided at the Leeds City Museum since 1823, and survived being bombed in the Blitz, while other specimens were damaged.
A vocal tract can only be restored if the soft tissue remains, so the team passed Nesyamun through a CT scanner at Leeds General Infirmary to check if a significant part of the structure of the larynx and throat existed.
Prof Joann Fletcher, of the department of archaeology at the University of York, added: “This innovative collaboration has given us the unique opportunity to hear the sound of someone long dead by virtue of their soft tissue preservation combined with new developments in technology.
“Its relevance conforms exactly to the ancient Egyptians’ fundamental belief that ‘to speak the name of the dead is to make them live again’.”
The research is published in the Scientific Reports journal.
‘This has given us the unique opportunity to hear the sound of someone long dead’
Amummy that has resided in Leeds since 1823 has been given a voice – of a kind. Scientists Cat-scanned the 3,000-year-old mummified body of Nesyamun, then 3D-printed the shape of his vocal tract. Using a computer-generated sound in place of that of his larynx, they made a sound like Eaayh. This does not quite meet the hope expressed on his coffin inscription: “True of Voice”. It may be a start, but the ancient Egyptian idea was for the soul in the afterlife to declare that it had never committed 42 of the worst sins (slandering, stealing, adultery...) With the best will in the afterworld, Eaayh doesn’t count as much of a declaration. Until the scientists get more inventive, it is music from surviving ancient instruments such as flutes that will provide the most haunting evocation of the sounds the Egyptians heard.