British researchers reconstruct a mummy’s voice

A team of British researchers from Royal Holloway University of London (RHUL), Leeds Museum and the University of York (UOY) have used 3D printing and CT scanning to reconstruct a sound from an ancient mummified priest, named Nesyamun, believed to have ruled at the beginning of the eleventh century BC.

Based on measurements of the exact dimensions of Nesyamun’s vocal tract, the scientists managed to build a 3D printed vocal tract. In addition to the 3D printed vocal tract, the scientists also used an artificial larynx to synthesise his speech to produce a vowel-like sound.

RHUL’s Professor David Howard, stated: “I was demonstrating the Vocal Tract Organ in June two-thousand and thirteen to colleagues, with implications for providing authentic vocal sounds back to those who have lost the normal speech function of their vocal tract or larynx following an accident or surgery for laryngeal cancer. I was then approached by Prof John Schofield who began to think about the archaeological and heritage opportunities of this new development. Hence finding Nesyamun and discovering his vocal tract and soft tissues were in great order for us to be able to do this. It has been such an interesting project that has opened a novel window onto the past and we’re very excited to be able to share the sound with people for the first time in three-thousand years.”

A Professor at the Department of Archaeology at the UOY, Joann Fletcher, stated: “Ultimately this innovative interdisciplinary 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. And while this has wide implications for both healthcare and museum display, its relevance conforms exactly to the ancient Egyptians’ fundamental belief that to speak the name of the dead is to make them live again.”