Ancient Scent: Scientists Recreate 'Perfume' Used to Preserve Egyptian Mummies

A team of researchers has successfully recreated the elusive aroma once used in the mummification process of a prominent Egyptian woman over 3,500 years ago, Phys.org tells us in a report.

Led by Barbara Huber from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, the team's groundbreaking work not only provides an immersive sensory experience but also offers invaluable insights into the ancient art of preserving bodies for the afterlife.

The Scent of Eternity

Dubbed "the scent of eternity," this fragrance is set to be showcased at Denmark's Moesgaard Museum, inviting visitors to encounter a whiff of history.

Barbara Huber and her crew analyzed balm residues from canopic jars that once belonged to the mummy, Senetnay from the 18th dynasty, circa 1450 BCE.

These jars have been chilling at the Museum August Kestner in Hannover, Germany, after being excavated from Tomb KV42 in the Valley of the Kings. The result? A list of ingredients that reads like a shopping list from an ancient drugstore.

The Ingredients

"Our methods were also able to provide crucial insights into balm ingredients for which there is limited information in contemporary ancient Egyptian textual sources," Huber notes.

These jars contained a blend of beeswax, plant oil, fats, bitumen, Pinaceae resins, a balsamic substance, and dammar or Pistacia tree resin.

These ingredients, unique to that era, provide fresh insights into the elaborate mummification practices of ancient Egypt.

But that is not all - this concoction tells us some mind-boggling tales about history. Turns out, ancient Egypt was not just in its own little bubble.

The presence of imported ingredients such as larch tree resin, likely from the Mediterranean, and dammars from Southeast Asian tropical forests reveals the intricate trade connections of the time.

Remarkably, the study hints that the Egyptians might have had access to Southeast Asian dammar resin nearly a millennium earlier than previously believed.

Nicole Boivin, a senior researcher on the project, highlights that "the ingredients in the balm make it clear that the ancient Egyptians were sourcing materials from beyond their realm from an early date."

Discovering the Ancient Scent

Now, if you are wondering how the scientists recreated the ancient balm, the answer lies in some flashy scientific tools.

They whipped out these chemical identification and quantification methods: gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, high-temperature gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

So, why does this all matter? Well, it is not just about smelling like an ancient Egyptian for the day. This discovery not only bridges the temporal gap but also ensures accessibility for visually impaired individuals, enriching the exhibition of Egypt's storied past.

By offering a multisensory encounter, the researchers have managed to breathe life into history, enabling a broader audience to experience the mystique of ancient Egyptian mummification up close.

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