Nesyamun was a priest in the reign of Ramses XI, around 1100 BC. His name means “He who belongs to the god Amun.”
He worked at the Karnak temple, which may have employed more than 80,000 people at one time. Nesyamun was specifically a “wab priest,” meaning that he achieved a certain level of purification and was therefore allowed to approach the temple sanctuary to perform rituals and ceremonies.
Nesyamun was also a mummified individual, with a well-preserved body. His body was covered with linen bandages and this covering has some cracks. The outer covering of his mouth was also not perfectly preserved. In 1990, the director of the Leeds Mummy Project, Dr.
Rosalie David carried out extensive research into the living conditions, diseases and causes of death of the ancient Egyptians. This group helped research and document Nesyamun. Leeds Museum continued to document and research coffin decoration, which has led to greater understanding of the nature of Nesyamun’s roles.
The most recent study was conducted in January 2020, when scientists at the University of York attempted to reconstruct Nesyamun’s throat and larynx. They used CT scans to create a 3D model of the throat and were able to recreate the noise with the 3D reconstruction. It’s not the most notable sound out there and there are some concerns with the methodology which you can read about here.
