Nesyamun, also known as Natsef-Amun or The Leeds Mummy, was an ancient Egyptian priest who lived during the Twentieth Dynasty c. 1100 BC.

In 2020, his mummified vocal tract was modelled using CT scan data, allowing it to produce a single sound; the study attracted criticism for its ethics and research value.

Nesyamun (meaning "the one belonging to Amun"[2]) was a priest and scribe working within the Egyptian temple complex of Karnak in Thebes.

[4] According to the 1854 museum guidebook, inscriptions from his tomb mentioned that Nesyamun married the daughter of Amenemtephis who held one of the highest positions at the "Memnonium".

[8] Nesyamun died around 1100 BC and was buried in the cemetery of priests and priestesses of Amun in the causeway of Hatshepsut's mortuary temple Deir el-Bahari.

[9][10] The coffined body of Nesyamun was rediscovered in 1822 or 1823 by Italian trader Giuseppe Passalacqua [fr] during his excavations of the Deir el-Bahari causeway.

[11] Nesyamun was bought in 1823 in London by antiquities dealer William Bullock from another man who had purchased and transported the mummy to England.

[14] Nesyamun's coffin was opened in late 1824 and his mummy was investigated by members of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society.

[18] Nesyamun was the only mummy without significant damage after the Leeds Blitz bombing of 15 March 1941 destroyed the front half of the museum.

[19] In 1990, the director of Leeds City Museum invited the Manchester Mummy Team led by Rosalie David to undertake a new scientific study of Nesyamun (then known as "Natsef-Amun").

[21] The multi-disciplinary team, established in 1973,[22] used a variety of techniques including X-rays, CT scans, and analysis of tissue samples to determine Nesyamun had arthritis in his neck and hip and was infected with a type of parasitic worm.

[citation needed] Nesyamun's preserved body was entombed in a high quality wooden coffin inscribed with hieroglyphs.

[25] The coffin is mummiform in shape and depicts Nesyamun wearing a large wig encircled with a floral fillet and topped with lotus flowers.

The space between the inscriptions is filled with scenes of Nesyamun presenting offerings to various funerary gods including Ra-Horakhty, Osiris, and the four sons of Horus.

[30] Nesyamun's name and titles were not added into blanks in a pre-made coffin but written all in one, probably by a single person based on the consistent handwriting.

[24] The decorative scheme is divided into "eastern" and "western" themes between the left and right sides on the lid and trough with the depiction of paired day and night forms of gods.

[32] The central vertical lid inscription addresses the goddess Nut, asking for eternal life and to not die a second death.

[33] One text asks specifically to attend a festival of the god Sokar, with "onions at my neck the day of going round the walls".

A crack runs down the body on the proper right side and modern repairs are evident on the lid at the feet, right shoulder, and left edge, which obscures the text.

[24] Nesyamun's wrapped mummy was first examined in 1824 by William Osburn, E. S. George, Thomas Pridgen Teale, F.R.S, and R. Hey, members of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society.

[37][38] In the wrappings over his face and on his head was found a brittle red leather ornament decorated with figures of gods and the dual cartouches of Ramesses XI.

[42] When the body was revealed, it was covered with a 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick layer of incense which Osburn noted "still retains the faint smell of cinnamon and cassia".

[50] Examination of his eyes found degradation of the nerves suggestive of peripheral neuritis which can be caused by conditions such as diabetes and vitamin deficiency.

[59][60] Egyptologists have questioned the ethics and value of the project,[61] with Christina Riggs commenting via Twitter that the desecration of mummies is "alive and well" and that "only the rationalisations and tech" have changed.