Researchers who sniffed mummified remains in the name of science were greeted more with a blessing than a curse

Even around 5,000 years after their embalming, Strlič and collaborators described the bodies as smelling “pleasant.” This is largely thanks to the materials applied to the mummies, which included scented waxes, coniferous resins and oils made from pine, cedar, and juniper, as well as gum resins such as frankincense and myrrh.

The team’s approach could inspire museums to entertain visitors with odorous features such as smellscapes. In fact, the researchers now plan to reconstruct the smell of ancient mummified bodies in order to share this nontraditional approach to studying Egyptian mummies, as well as highlight an ancient olfactory heritage.

The study is the first time that the smells of mummified bodies have been systematically analyzed. The post New research reveals what Ancient Egyptian mummies smell like appeared first on Talker.

Ancient Egyptian mummified bodies smell ‘woody, spicy and sweet’, a study has found. It is the first time that the odour of mummified bodies have been systematically explored. The research, led by scientists from University College London and the University of Ljubljana,