3,000-year-old mummy is talking? | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Wednesday
May 28, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 2025
3,000-year-old mummy is talking?

Offbeat

TBS Report
25 January, 2020, 12:45 pm
Last modified: 25 January, 2020, 12:51 pm

Related News

  • ‘I've obtained a licence to kill 227 people’: ICT confirms it was Hasina’s voice in leaked audio
  • Remains of 5,000-year-old noblewoman found in Peru dig
  • VOICE holds dissemination event on gender based voilence
  • VOICE observes International Human Rights Day 2023
  • Strategies, guideline on online safety of journalists, women, human rights defenders discussed

3,000-year-old mummy is talking?

Scientists have 3D printed artificial larynx and synthesised a vowel sound to fulfill the mummified Egyptian priest's wish for life after death

TBS Report
25 January, 2020, 12:45 pm
Last modified: 25 January, 2020, 12:51 pm
Nesyamun was a priest at Karnak temple in ancient Thebes (modern-day Luxor). Photo: BBC
Nesyamun was a priest at Karnak temple in ancient Thebes (modern-day Luxor). Photo: BBC

A priest named Nesyamun who lived between 1099 and 1069BC can speak again!

Scientists have 3D printed artificial larynx and synthesised a vowel sound to fulfill the mummified Egyptian priest's wish for life after death.

It is considered to be the first such attempt to effectively recreate a dead person's voice by artificial means. The researchers hope to reconstruct full sentences in Nesyamun's voice using computer models in the future.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

The research - carried out by academics at Royal Holloway, University of London, the University of York and Leeds Museum - was published in the Scientific Reports journal on Thursday.

The voice recreation technique "has given us the unique opportunity to hear the sound of someone long dead", said study co-author Joann Fletcher, a professor of archaeology at the University of York.

Archaeology professor John Schofield, also of the University of York, told the BBC it was Nesyamun's "express wish" to be heard in the afterlife, which was part of his religious belief system.

"It's actually written on his coffin - it was what he wanted," Prof Schofield said. "In a way, we've managed to make that wish come true."

How exactly did they recreate Nesyamun's voice?

In humans, the vocal tract is the passage where sound is filtered. That sound is produced at the larynx - the organ commonly known as the voice box - but we only hear it once it has passed through the vocal tract.

To copy the sound produced by Nesyamun's vocal tract, the exact dimensions of it were mirrored in 3D-printed form.

But this process is only possible when the soft tissue of an individual's vocal tract is reasonably intact.

In Nesyamun's case, the fact that his mummified body was well preserved made this more likely, and the team confirmed it using a CT scanner at Leeds General Infirmary.

His "voice" was then generated by an artificial larynx sound - a method commonly used in modern speech synthesis systems.

The next step for the researchers will be to use computer models "to generate words and string those words together to make sentences", said Prof Schofield.

"We're hoping we can create a version of what he would have said at the temple at Karnak."

Who was Nesyamun?

Nesyamun was a priest at the temple of Amun in the Karnak complex at Thebes (modern-day Luxor).

He was a waab priest, which meant he had reached a certain level of purification and was therefore permitted to approach the statue of Amun in the most sacred inner sanctum of the temple.

Studies revealed that Nesyamun suffered from gum disease and severely deteriorating teeth. He is thought to have died in his 50s, possibly following a severe allergic reaction.

As the only mummy to have been dated from the reign of Ramses XI, Nesyamun offers important insights. Scientific analysis of his remains has contributed to a greater understanding of ancient Egypt.

Nesyamun's mummified remains are on display at Leeds City Museum.

Mummy / voice

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Inflation, exchange rate shocks to intensify fiscal pressure in FY26
    Inflation, exchange rate shocks to intensify fiscal pressure in FY26
  • Screengrab from Google Maps shows traffic situation in Dhaka roads on the morning of Wednesday, 28 May 2025
    BNP, Jamaat rally day: Traffic likely to clog Dhaka roads, including Shahbagh, Nayapaltan, Kakrail
  • File photo of jamaat leader ATM Azharul Islam
    ATM Azharul Islam set free after acquittal in war crimes case

MOST VIEWED

  • Selim RF Hussain. Sketch: TBS
    BRAC Bank MD Selim RF Hussain resigns
  • Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur. TBS Sketch
    Depositors need not worry as govt will take over banks before merger: BB governor
  • Graphics: TBS
    Suspicious banking activities surge by 56% since July: Cenbank
  • Photo: Collected
    DU student assaulted for protesting eve-teasing at Chadni Chowk
  • Illustration: TBS
    Bangladesh sees highest-ever per capita income of $2,820 in FY25, BBS provisional data shows
  • Officials protest inside the Secretariat on Tuesday, 27 May 2025, over a government ordinance amending the Public Service Act, 2018. Photo: Rajib Dhar
    Protest at Secretariat suspended as govt assures decision on ordinance tomorrow

Related News

  • ‘I've obtained a licence to kill 227 people’: ICT confirms it was Hasina’s voice in leaked audio
  • Remains of 5,000-year-old noblewoman found in Peru dig
  • VOICE holds dissemination event on gender based voilence
  • VOICE observes International Human Rights Day 2023
  • Strategies, guideline on online safety of journalists, women, human rights defenders discussed

Features

In recent years, the Gor-e-Shaheed Eidgah has emerged as a strong contender for the crown of the biggest Eid congregation in the country, having hosted 600,000 worshippers in 2017. Photo: TBS

Gor-e-Shaheed Boro Maath: The heart of Dinajpur

1d | Panorama
The Hili Land Port, officially opened in 1997 but with trade roots stretching back to before Partition, has grown into a cornerstone of bilateral commerce.

Dhaka-Delhi tensions ripple across Hili’s markets and livelihoods

2d | Panorama
Photo: Collected

Desk goals: Affordable ways to elevate your study setup

2d | Brands
Built on a diamond-type frame, the Hornet 2.0 is agile but grounded. PHOTO: Asif Chowdhury

Honda Hornet 2.0: Same spirit, upgraded sting

2d | Wheels

More Videos from TBS

How protecting Dhaka’s rivers and canals from plastic waste

How protecting Dhaka’s rivers and canals from plastic waste

50m | TBS Programs
Jamaat leader ATM Azhar released from prison after 13 years

Jamaat leader ATM Azhar released from prison after 13 years

1h | TBS Today
Trump delays 50% tariffs on EU goods

Trump delays 50% tariffs on EU goods

11h | Others
Eid may be celebrated in Bangladesh on June 7

Eid may be celebrated in Bangladesh on June 7

12h | TBS Today
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net