Listen to the Recreated Voice of a 3,000-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy [2020]

Smithsonian ^ | January 24, 2020 | Meilan Solly

[SunkenCiv]

In the nearly 200 years since his mummy’s arrival at the Leeds City Museum in northern England, an ancient Egyptian priest named Nesyamun has slowly but surely revealed his secrets.

Employed as a high-ranking priest and scribe at the Karnak state temple in Thebes, Nesyamun performed rituals filled with both song and speech. Active during the turbulent reign of Ramses XI, who served as Egypt’s pharaoh between 1099 and 1069 B.C., he died in his mid-50s, likely due to a severe allergic reaction, and suffered from ailments including gum disease and heavily worn teeth. And, as evidenced by inscriptions on his coffin, Nesyamun hoped his soul would one day speak to the gods much as he had in life.

A new study published in the journal Scientific Reports fulfills the 3,000-year-old priest’s vision of the afterlife, drawing on CT scans of his surprisingly intact vocal tract to engineer an approximation of his voice. The sound bite, created with a speech synthesizing tool called the Vocal Tract Organ, reconstructs “the sound that would come out of his vocal tract if he was in his coffin and his larynx came to life again,” says study co-author David Howard, a speech scientist at Royal Holloway, University of London, to the New York Times’ Nicholas St. Fleur.

The clip itself is brief and vaguely underwhelming, capturing a single vowel sound media outlets have described as “resembl[ing] a brief groan,” “a bit like a long, exasperated ‘meh’ without the ‘m,’” “a sound caught between the words ‘bed’ and ‘bad,’” and “rather like ‘eeuuughhh.’”

[SunkenCiv]

People who study mummies aren't wrapped too tight. Sure, that joke's old, but I've been using it since I saw it on the wall of hieroglyphics in the Seti temple.

[SunkenCiv]

Ironically, they later translated a curse forbidding the reproduction of Nesyamun’s voice.

[SunkenCiv]

When Egyptian priest Nesyamun died more than 3,000 years ago his departing 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, 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 3000 years.’

And they want to eventually try the technique on other famous ‘heads’, and bring back the voices of notable figures.

What sound does an ancient Egyptian mummy make? Scientist recreate voice of 3000 year old mummy | January 23, 2020 | The Telegraph

Sounds like "Death! Death! Death!"

[SunkenCiv]

LOL

[I-ambush]

I had to laugh too. Hope he didn’t waste too much time and grant money on this “fascinating” archeological study.

[SunkenCiv]

Wow, that’s a trip down memory lane.

[LeoTDB69]

The mummy spoke his last words into a sealed bottle, when the bottle was open it said “fuck Biden”.

[SunkenCiv]

Looks like a scene from an ancient Egyptian prison.

[SunkenCiv]

"Who's messing with the thermostat?"

[DannyTN]

Sounds like a good way to lose a body part.

[SunkenCiv]

She's hot (for an Egyptologist) but basically a cipher.

[SunkenCiv]

In a couple of years, Bill will look older.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Cleopatra;

“Kiss my asp.”

[Paperpusher]

Given that the mummification process removed the brain, probably more like Ray Bolger..

or Biden!

[Salamander]

A dry mouth from a running gag, no less.

[Salamander]

I only wish I’d been sitting in that august and expectant audience when he revealed this stunning revelation.

;D

[BenLurkin]

“That’s a wrap.”

[heavy metal]

epstein didn’t kill himself...

[bgill]

That was exciting, not. Couldn’t get him to recite, “Mary Had a Little Lamb”.

[SunkenCiv]

“I’m sorry, I can’t do that Dave.”