‘Trained human sniffers’ reveal what Egyptian mummies actually smelt like when wrapped up
EXCLUSIVE: With the help of a team of ‘trained human sniffers’ experts have revealed what ancient Egyptian mummies smelt like – some of the 5000 year of mummies were described as ‘pleasant’
Scientists have revealed what ancient Egyptian mummies smell like and have said the mummified remains smelt ‘woody,’ ‘spicy’ and ‘sweet.’
The study took place in Cairo, Egypt, by researchers from UCL and the University of Ljubljana and used gas chromatography to identify the chemicals emitted from mummified bodies. The research utilised “trained human sniffers” to describe the smell on three factors: quality, intensity and pleasantness. Some of the mummies smelt were a staggering over 5,000 years old, however scientist’s remarks about the bodies’ smell were surprisingly positive.
Professor Cecilia Bembibre, Research Director and lecturer, UCL provided more detail on the unique skill of these trained sniffers, telling the Daily Star: “Trained sniffers are people who, through specific education and practice, are able to describe and quantify different aspects of a smell, such as quality (woody, floral, etc), intensity (from strong to weak on a scale) and hedonic tone (from very pleasant to very unpleasant, on a scale).”
She added: “We all undertook additional training smelling ingredients which were directly related to Ancient Egyptian embalming practices, as well as materials associated with the collection and display cases, to develop relevant vocabulary for describing the smells of mummified bodies.”
These new smell profiles are thought to potentially allow museums to create ‘smellscapes’ to better inform viewers of the fragrances of historical objects and time periods.
Professor Ali Abdelhalim, director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and Co-author of the study, said: “To the ancient Egyptians, mummification was an important mortuary practice aimed at preserving the body and soul for the afterlife through a detailed ritual of embalming of the deceased using oils, waxes and balms”
The new analysis of the smells given off by the mummies could offer scientist clues on the materials and ingredients used in mummification and how the practice evolved. Alongside this these smell tests help experts determine how successful their conservation efforts of the 5,000 bodies are.
Professor Abdelrazek Elnaggar, Research Fellow at the Heritage Science Laboratory, University of Ljubljana, revealed more about the substances used in mummification to the Star: “Most of the substances of mummification were used for their antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and preservative properties, making them valuable for skin care, cosmetics and in medical traditions.”
Not only did the study identify aromas from oils, waxes and balms but also smells from conservation products that had been used or mould and bacteria that had been formed after the body’s deterioration.
