The Future of Mummy Voices: Scientists Bring Ancient Egyptian to Life

We've been hearing Hollywood's take of what a mummy would sound like for decades, but now scientists have used 3D printing to give a real voice to an actual mummy. This isn't just a sea or a moon; it's an Egyptian priest who died about 3,000 years ago. Now, a little more recently, he's been one of the top attractions at the Leeds City Museum in the UK.

In 2013, British researchers began the process of putting the mummy through a series of CT scans. They actually moved him from the museum to a hospital to get those scans done and hope they brought him through the back if I'm a patient waiting in the ER - I think it would be pretty unsettling to see them carting in a mummy. But we digress. The CT scans confirmed exactly what the researchers had hoped for, thanks to the mummification process. Nasim Moon was well-preserved enough to get an accurate scan of his vocal tract, which is crucial for replicating a mummy's voice.

Researchers then replicated the vocal tract with 3D printing. Our vocal tracks essentially filter sounds that are produced from the larynx, giving us each our unique voices. Once they had two replicas, they hooked them up to an electronic larynx and a loudspeaker. What they heard was the closest thing to the voice of an ancient Egyptian we've ever heard. But what exactly did that sound like? The team analyzed audio recordings from modern men and found that the ancient sound fell somewhere between the vowels in "bad" and "beggled". However, it's essential to remember that this wouldn't necessarily be an exact copy of a functioning vocal tract. The real one was sitting around for three millennia, and researchers admit that the sound isn't one that he would ever actually made in real life based on the larynx.

They were able to speculate that he probably had a higher-pitched voice than the average man today, which might seem like an odd coincidence or even divine intervention. The inscription on his sarcophagus said he hoped his voice would be heard in the afterlife. Now you might be asking if there's any real point to this. Scientists say that from this sound, they can create sounds he actually would have made and are working towards developing a computer model that could move the vocal tract around, allowing them to form different vowel sounds and maybe even words.

Imagine a future where you could go to a museum and maybe even have a conversation with a historical figure in their actual voice. Maybe that's a ways off, but I for one love the idea of someday being able to hear the Gettysburg Address in Abraham Lincoln's actual voice. This technology could even be used to bring back the voices of some of the all-time great singers like Elvis - cover of "Truth Hurts", anyone? But which famous voice would you bring back? Let us know in the comments, and if you've seen something you want us to cover on WTF, tweet me that's it for this week.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwe've been hearing Hollywood's take of what a mummy would sound like for decades but now scientists have used 3d printing to give a real voice to an actual mummy this isn't a sea a moon he's an Egyptian priest who died about 3,000 years ago now a little more recently he's been one of the top attractions at the Leeds City Museum in the UK back in 2013 British researchers began the process of putting the mummy through a series of CT scans now they actually moved him from the museum to a hospital to get those scans done and I hope they brought him through the back if I'm a patient waiting in the ER I think it would be pretty unsettling to see them carting in a mummy but I digress the CT scans confirmed exactly what the researchers had hoped for thanks to the mummification process nassim moon was well preserved enough to get an accurate scan of his vocal tract then researchers replicated it with 3d printing now our vocal tracks essentially filter sounds that are produced from the larynx giving us each are unique voices now once they had two replicas they hooked it up to an electronic larynx and a loudspeaker what they heard was the closest thing to the voice of an ancient Egyptian we have ever heard so what was that sound exactly well the team analyzed audio recordings from modern men and found the ancient sound fell somewhere between the vowels in bad and begged hey but remember this wouldn't necessarily be an exact copy of a functioning vocal tract the real one was sitting around for three millennia and researchers admit that the sound isn't one that he would ever actually made in real life based on the larynx they were able to speculate that he probably had a higher pitched voice than the average man today and what some would call an odd coincidence others maybe even divine intervention the inscription on his sarcophagus said he hoped his voice would be heard in the afterlife now you might be asking is there any real point to this well the scientists say from this sound they can create sounds he actually would have made and their next goal is to develop a computer model that could move the vocal tract around that would allow them to form different vowel sounds and maybe even words so imagine a future where you could go to a museum and maybe even have a conversation with a historical figure in their actual voice maybe that's a ways off but I for one love the idea of someday being able to hear the Gettysburg Address in Abraham Lincoln's actual voice maybe this could even be used to bring back the voices of some of the all-time great singers Elvis cover of truth hurts anyone maybe not what famous voice would you bring back let us know in the comments and if you've seen something you want us to cover on WTF tweet me that's it for this week i'm andy altman singing the future where will we find a mommy don't worry the mummy you'll find youwe've been hearing Hollywood's take of what a mummy would sound like for decades but now scientists have used 3d printing to give a real voice to an actual mummy this isn't a sea a moon he's an Egyptian priest who died about 3,000 years ago now a little more recently he's been one of the top attractions at the Leeds City Museum in the UK back in 2013 British researchers began the process of putting the mummy through a series of CT scans now they actually moved him from the museum to a hospital to get those scans done and I hope they brought him through the back if I'm a patient waiting in the ER I think it would be pretty unsettling to see them carting in a mummy but I digress the CT scans confirmed exactly what the researchers had hoped for thanks to the mummification process nassim moon was well preserved enough to get an accurate scan of his vocal tract then researchers replicated it with 3d printing now our vocal tracks essentially filter sounds that are produced from the larynx giving us each are unique voices now once they had two replicas they hooked it up to an electronic larynx and a loudspeaker what they heard was the closest thing to the voice of an ancient Egyptian we have ever heard so what was that sound exactly well the team analyzed audio recordings from modern men and found the ancient sound fell somewhere between the vowels in bad and begged hey but remember this wouldn't necessarily be an exact copy of a functioning vocal tract the real one was sitting around for three millennia and researchers admit that the sound isn't one that he would ever actually made in real life based on the larynx they were able to speculate that he probably had a higher pitched voice than the average man today and what some would call an odd coincidence others maybe even divine intervention the inscription on his sarcophagus said he hoped his voice would be heard in the afterlife now you might be asking is there any real point to this well the scientists say from this sound they can create sounds he actually would have made and their next goal is to develop a computer model that could move the vocal tract around that would allow them to form different vowel sounds and maybe even words so imagine a future where you could go to a museum and maybe even have a conversation with a historical figure in their actual voice maybe that's a ways off but I for one love the idea of someday being able to hear the Gettysburg Address in Abraham Lincoln's actual voice maybe this could even be used to bring back the voices of some of the all-time great singers Elvis cover of truth hurts anyone maybe not what famous voice would you bring back let us know in the comments and if you've seen something you want us to cover on WTF tweet me that's it for this week i'm andy altman singing the future where will we find a mommy don't worry the mummy you'll find you\n"