Following the development of X-rays, the body underwent radiological examination in 1931 at the University of Leeds’ School of Medicine, in 1964 by the University of Sheffield School of Dentistry, and in 1990 at the University of Manchester by a team using endoscopy, histology, X-ray and early CT scanning techniques 9, 10. Following the unwrapping of his body in 1824, it was examined by members of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society including three surgeons and a chemist whose multidisciplinary scientific investigation published in 1828 8 was the first of its kind. With his mummified remains now displayed in Leeds City Museum, the current project is only the most recent to examine Nesyamun, whose remains have been at the forefront of mummy studies for almost two centuries. His voice was an essential part of his ritual duties which involved spoken as well as sung elements 7. 1) lived during the politically volatile reign of pharaoh Ramses XI (c.1099–1069 BC) over 3000 years ago, working as a scribe and priest at the state temple of Karnak in Thebes (modern Luxor). This was also true for archaeological reasons. With the need for optimum preservation of the vocal tract an essential requirement, combined with the practical necessity for precise CT-imaging in close proximity to the individual selected, the mummified body of Nesyamun was a highly appropriate choice. Having established the scientific recreation of a 3-D printed vocal tract unique to a living individual, the ‘Voices from the Past’ Project was set up to investigate this possibility for those long dead in cases where their remains are sufficiently well preserved. The synthesised vowel sound based on the precise dimensions of his unique vocal tract is here compared to modern vowels as proof of method and to demonstrate future research potential. To do so would require knowledge of the relevant vocal tract articulations, phonetics and timing patterns of his language. This acoustic output is for the single sound for the extant vocal tract shape it does not provide a basis for synthesising running speech. The process is only feasible when the relevant soft tissue is reasonably intact, as in the case of the 3,000 year-old mummified body of the Egyptian priest Nesyamun 6, whose ‘in death’ vocal tract acoustic output has been scientifically synthesised. Even where soft tissue does survive, for example in mummified remains 4, the vocal tract can either be missing or distorted 5. Since the restoration of an exact vocal sound requires the perfect preservation of the soft tissues, this is impossible for individuals whose remains are only skeletal. If the tract dimensions can be scientifically established, vocal sounds can be synthesised by using an electronic larynx sound source 2 and a 3-D printed vocal tract 3. The precise dimensions of an individual’s vocal tract produce a sound unique to them 1. The sound of a vocal tract from the past has been synthesised to be heard again in the present, allowing people to engage with the past in completely new and innovative ways.
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