Most people know what an ancient Egyptian mom looks like, but they probably can’t tell you how they smell. However, you do not have to wait to get up close and personally to one in a museum to find out. Researchers from the University College London collaborated with the Egyptian museum in Cairo to scientifically analyze those very scents – and the answer is a usually pleasant mix of earthy waxes, oils and resins.
But learning the odor details of a mummy was not only for curiosity – the results of the team, published on 13 February in the Journal of the American Chemical SocietyCould help retain the relics.
Ancient Egyptian mummification techniques were almost always focused on guaranteeing the best possible preservation. These methods developed for hundreds of years and reflected various social factors at those times.
“Mummification was an important mortuary practice aimed at preserving the body and the soul for the hereafter due to a detailed ritual of the Balms of the deceased with the help of oils, washing and balms,” Ali Abdelhalim, director of the Egyptian museum in Cairo and Cairo and Co-author, explained in a corresponding statement on Thursday. “The practice has evolved over time and identifying different techniques and materials used provides insights into the era, location and the socio -economic status of the individual that is mummified.”
But apart from the preservation itself, odor was also an important part of mummification. Ancient Egyptians associated pleasant odors not only with cleanliness and purity, but also with the bodies of gods themselves. Just like today, harmful scents were also memories of physical decay. This combination of olfactory focus and advanced mummification processes was so strong that the aromas of a mum can remember the past.
“The scent of mummified bodies has attracted a lot of interest from experts and the general public for years, but so far no combined chemical and perceptual scientific studies has been conducted,” added Matija Strlič, study right authority and a professor at the UCL Bartlett School of Environment, , Energy and resources.
To catalog these scents, Strlič and colleagues visited Egypt to collaborate with Abdelhalim and nine of the museum’s mummies. Their approach has combined both traditional human sensory experience and scientific analysis. In one phase, a ‘panel of trained human’ sniffs’ applied their sharp smell possibilities to help describe mummy aromas based on intensity, quality and pleasantness. In another step, researchers used a gas chromatograph and a mass spectrometer to identify the origin of each odor.
While some come from the bodies themselves, many other chemical molecules arose from archaeological objects such as the sarcop raguses and mummification fabric. Others came from more modern additions such as pesticides and other nature conservation products. Once categorized, the team could describe the scent of each mummy in detail.
Even about 5000 years after their balm, Strlič and employees described the bodies as a smelling ‘pleasant’. This is largely due to the materials that are used on the mummies, including scented washing, needle resins and oils made of pines, cedar and juniper, as well as gums such as Wierook and Mirre.
Strlič added that in addition to expanding our knowledge of ancient Egyptian balm processes, the findings can help improve nature conservation techniques to protect the mummies against further decline or damage. Looking at the future, the information can also help create new museum tones around the world through the use of “scenting capes” in addition to the Millennia-old visual components.
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