For the first time, archaeologists have conducted a systematic study of the smells emanating from ancient Egyptian mummies using instruments and human sniffers. The “pleasant smellscapes” reveal new details about mummification practices.
Mummification in ancient Egypt likely began as a natural process driven by a hot, dry desert environment. However, evidence for artificial embalming keeps being pushed back with records of the practice as early as 3600 BCE. (That’s 1000 years before the invention of writing.)
“The practice evolved over time,” says co-author Ali Abdelhalim, director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. “Identifying different techniques and materials used offers insights into the era, location and socioeconomic status of the individual being mummified.”
As mummification was essential preparation for the afterlife, smell would have been a key consideration for ancient Egyptian embalmers. Pleasant odours were associated with divinity and purity while foul odours represented the body’s corruption and decay.
Even 5,000 years later, the authors report that museum conservators often describe Egyptian mummies as smelling pleasant.
Odours are chemical molecules given off by a substance that have become suspended in air. Substances used for embalming and mummification included tree resins, oils, waxes, plant extracts, animal fats, beeswax and natron, a naturally occurring salt.
To measure these chemical signatures, the archaeologists used gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, as well as a panel of human sniffers, on nine mummies held in the Egyptian Museum.
The authors suggest that this non-destructive method could not only detect chemicals used for mummification but also chemicals that may be harmful to museum workers.
The instruments revealed four categories of odour based on their origin: original mummification chemicals, plant oils used in museum conservation, synthetic pesticides and microbial activity.
“New information was revealed by the smells, highlighting the importance of using our senses to understand the past,” says co-author Cecilia Bembibre of University College London (UCL) in the UK.
The panel of trained human sniffers determined that mummies most often smelled “woody”, “spicy” or “sweet”. The authors argue that these smells represent an olfactory heritage that should be preserved with the physical artifact and even presented to museum audiences.
“This ground-breaking research really helps us better plan conservation and understand the ancient embalming materials,” says lead author Matija Strlič of UCL. “It adds another layer of data to enrich the museum exhibition of mummified bodies.”
The research is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
