A Dulce, to spices or wood … Thus they continue to smell the Egyptian mummies about 5,000 years later, as revealed by a study that has combined the latest chemical analysis technologies, such as an “electronic nose”, with direct olfactory analysis.
The good smell was essential for the ancient Egyptians during the mummification process. To him they associated the purity of the gods, while the bad smell was equivalent to the corruption and rot of a body, the authors point out.
Today the conservatives continue to describe the aroma of the mummified bodies thousands of years ago as “pleasant”, since they still maintain vegetable aromatic resins, pine, cedar, juniper, myrrh or incense, and waxes used to mummify.
The research on the smell of the mummies of Ancient Egypt appears collected this Friday in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and is the result of the collaboration between conservatives of the Egyptian Museum of Cairo, where the nine mummies studied, and researchers from Slovenia, Poland and the United Kingdom.
Methodology
Odors are chemical molecules suspended in the air that has detached a substance. The researchers used an instrument called gase chromatograph coupled to a spectrometer to measure and quantify the chemicals emitted by the nine bodies studied, currently exposed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Besides, A group of “trained human” smells “described the smells in terms of quality, intensity and pleasure.
Combining these methods, the researchers could determine whether the chemical smell was emitted by the archaeological object, by conservation products, pesticides added later, or by the natural deterioration of the mummy over the years due to molds, bacteria and other Microorganisms
Together with the detection of wood, species and sweet smells, the investigation also demonstrated the efficacy of the smell as a non -invasive and non -destructive method to chemically classify and analyze ancient remains.
A pioneering study
“For the ancient Egyptians, The mummification was an important mortuary practice aimed at preserving the body and soul For the other life through a thorough ritual of the deceased of the deceased with oils, waxes and balms, ”says one of the authors, Professor Ali Abdelhalim, director of the Egyptian Museum of Cairo.
Abdelhalim recounts how this practice evolved over time, and the identification of the different techniques and materials used to mummify offers valuable information about the time, the location and socioeconomic status of the mummified individual.
“While most studies on mummified bodies have been carried out so far in European museums, here we have worked closely with our Egyptian colleagues to ensure that their knowledge and perceptual experience were represented,” adds another of the authors, Cecilia Bembibre , researcher at the University College of London.
“The smell of mummified bodies has aroused great interest for years, but so far no combined scientific study was carried out chemical techniques and perception. We are facing a pioneering study, ”says another of the authors Matija Strlic, affiliated with the University College of London and the University of Liubliana.
According to the authors, this type of chemical analysis will help to preserve heritage better and to maintain the safety of the conservatives who deal with it.
In addition to deepening the knowledge of the conservation and material history of the ancient mummified bodies, the research “will allow museums to attract the public not only visually, but also through smell by creating” olfactory landscapes. “