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"Woody and sweet": It turns out ancient mummies smell good

By
Published  February 14, 2025 12:02pm MST
Science
FOX TV Stations

FILE-The sarcophagus of a rich merchant lays on an archeological site in Giza, Egypt. (Photo by Marc Deville/Getty Images)

The Brief

    • Researchers studying ancient mummies were able to determine the odors of them. 
    • The team assessed smells of the mummies at a museum in Egypt. 
    • Some of the mummies evaluated for their scents were 5,000 years old. 

Researchers studying well-preserved Egyptian mummies discovered that they smell good. 

The team was studying nine mummies, some 5,000 years old, that were either in storage or on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. 

According to a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers at University College London and the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia used both chemical analysis and a panel of human sniffers to evaluate the odors of the mummies. 

"Woody," "spicy" and "sweet" were top descriptions of the odors of mummies shared by the group, which also detected floral notes possibly from pine and juniper resins used in embalming.

The group was able to evaluate whether the smells were coming from the mummies, pesticides or other products used to preserve the remains, or from deterioration due to mold, bacteria, or microorganisms.

What they're saying:

"In films and books, terrible things happen to those who smell mummifiedbodies," said Cecilia Bembibre, director of research at University College London's Institute for Sustainable Heritage. "We were surprised at the pleasantness of them."

The backstory:

The AP noted that scent was an important consideration in the mummification process that used oils, waxes, and balms to preserve the body and its spirit for the afterlife. 

This ritual was primarily for pharaohs and nobility and pleasant smells were related with purity and deities while unpleasant odors were signs of corruption and decay.

Researchers from the recent study have a goal of doing something similar, using their findings to develop "smellscapes" to recreate the scents they smelled, while improving the experience for future visitors to the museum. 

The Source

  • Information for this story was provided by the Associated Press, which cites a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The AP also received comments from one of the authors in the study about the methods used to detect smells of the mummies.  This story was reported from Washington, D.C. 

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