COSMOS MAGAZINE
By Ariel Marcy
Archaeologists have, for the first time, systematically studied the smells of ancient Egyptian mummies using instruments and human sniffers.
Model of a mummy in Egyptian village near Cairo. Credit: Getty.
The panel of trained human sniffers found that mummies mostly smelled “woody,” “spicy,” or “sweet.”
Emma Paolin, PhD student at University of Ljubljana, setting up to sample mummy aromas. Credit: Abdelrazek Elnaggar
Credit: Getty.
Researchers suggest these smells represent an olfactory heritage that should be preserved with the physical artifact and even presented to museum audiences.
Mummification in ancient Egypt likely started naturally in the hot, dry desert. However, evidence of artificial embalming dates back to 3600 BCE — around 1,000 years before writing was invented.
Image: Illustration of the Egyptian embalming process. Credit: Getty.
Credit: Chan Chai Kee.
Pleasant odours were associated with divinity and purity while foul odours represented the body’s corruption and decay.
As mummification was essential preparation for the afterlife, smell would have been a key consideration for ancient Egyptian embalmers.
Mummy of pharaoh Tutankhamun in his tomb in Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt. Credit: Getty.
Even 5,000 years later, the authors report that museum conservators often describe Egyptian mummies as smelling pleasant.
Odours are airborne chemical molecules.
Embalming materials included tree resins, oils, waxes, plant extracts, animal fats, beeswax, and natron, a natural salt.
Pictured: Emma Paolin of University of Ljubljana (back) and Cecilia Bembibre of the University College London (front) taking swab samples for the purpose of microbiological analysis. Credit: Abdelrazek Elnaggar.
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 in Cairo.
Pictured: Emma Paolin and Abdelrazek Elnaggar of University of Ljubljana and Ain Shams University sampling a sarcophagus in the exhibition area of the Egyptian museum in Cairo into a Nalophan bag. The bag containing this air is used for sensory analysis. Credit: Cecilia Bembibre.
“It adds another layer of data to enrich the museum exhibition of mummified bodies.”
“This ground-breaking research really helps us better plan conservation and understand the ancient embalming materials,” says lead author Matija Strlič of University College London.