Researchers find ancient Egyptian mummies have pleasant scents

At first whiff, it sounds repulsive: sniff the essence of an ancient corpse. But researchers who indulged their curiosity in the name of science found that well-preserved Egyptian mummies actually smell pretty good.

“In films and books, terrible things happen to those who smell mummified bodies,” said Cecilia Bembibre, director of research at University College London’s Institute for Sustainable Heritage.

A study published on Thursday, in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, analyzed the scents of nine mummies housed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The scientists used both chemical analysis and a panel of human sniffers to evaluate the odors, and detected woody spicy and sweet notes. Floral notes were also detected, which could be from pine and juniper resins used in embalming. The findings are opposite to the common perception about mummies having foul smell.

“We were surprised at the pleasantness of them.” said Cecilia.

The mummification process was largely reserved for pharaohs and nobility and scent was an important consideration of the process. Oils, waxes and balms were used to preserve the body and its spirit for the afterlife were associated with purity and deities while bad odors were signs of corruption and decay.

Researchers from UCL and the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia ensured that the aromas from the archaeological item were detected and not from pesticides or from deterioration due to mold, bacteria or microorganisms.

“We were quite worried that we might find notes or hints of decaying bodies, which wasn’t the case, we were specifically worried that there might be indications of microbial degradation, but that was not the case, which means that the environment in this museum, is actually quite good in terms of preservation. Using technical instruments to measure and quantify air molecules emitted from sarcophagi to determine the state of preservation without touching the mummies was like the Holy Grail.” said Matija Strlic, a chemistry professor at the University of Ljubljana.

Barbara Huber, a postdoctoral researcher at Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Germany, who was not involved in the study, said, “The findings provide crucial data on compounds that could preserve or degrade mummified remains. The information could be used to better protect the ancient bodies for future generations. However, the research also underscores a key challenge: the smells detected today are not necessarily those from the time of mummification. Over thousands of years, evaporation, oxidation, and even storage conditions have significantly altered the original scent profile.”

However, Huber also pointed a key challenge of the study, “the smells detected today are not necessarily those from the time of mummification. Over thousands of years, evaporation, oxidation, and even storage conditions have significantly altered the original scent profile.”

Researchers believe that by using their findings they can develop “smellscapes” to artificially recreate the scents they detected and enhance the experience for future museumgoers, which would further improve the understanding of Egyptian burial practices.