You may expect thousands of years of dead bodies to smell bad, but ancient Egyptian mummies show that this thought may not be exactly true. It also proves the skills of the mumalaists, and these old bodies have preserved most of the pretty smells that are initially spread from aromatic oils and candles. A team of educated sniffors describes these odors as “pleasantly pleasant”.

Professor Matija Strlič, the editor -in -chief of the new research, said in a statement, “The smell of mummified bodies has attracted significant attention among experts and the people. However, unified chemical and perceptual scientific work has not been done so far.” Together with a group of fragrance experts, Strlič analyzed the smell of nine mummies in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which belonged to the new Kingdom period, which began in 1539 BC.

“This groundbreaking research helps us to better plan protection and understand ancient mummification materials,” Strlič said.

According to the reports of sniffers, 78 %of the samples maintained a “woody” aroma, while 67 %were defined as “spicy” and 56 %”dessert. It was determined that only one third of the mummies spread negative scents such as “stale” or “corrupted”. Another group at the same rate was emitting “incense -like” feelings.

The authors of the study, “the average density of the set ‘moderate’ and the hedonic tone on average ‘a little pleasant’ was evaluated,” he writes.

In addition to human sniffers, researchers used an electronic “nose” to better understand the type of volatile compounds spread from ancient mummies. This showed the presence of terpenoids such as Pinen, Lemonen and Verbenon found in the oils, resins and candles used in the mummification process.

Researchers say that such compounds indicate the use of plants such as cedar or pine resin, murrusage and gum resins such as gum resin and akgünlük and thyme, lavender and eucalyptus “. In addition, the presence of borneole in the aromas may be due to the use of café.

The authors managed to separate aromatic compounds by mummaking materials using gas chromatography and mass spectrometer, vegetable oils and pesticides added during modern protection efforts and mold and other germs. In general, the mummies exhibited have stronger and more complex scents than the storage, and it is probably due to the accumulation of volatile substances in exhibition cabinets “.

Based on these findings, researchers argue that the “fragrance heritage” of ancient Egyptian mummies should be considered as a vital component of the cultural, historical and archaeological values ​​of the museums.

The study was published on the Journal of American Chemical Society.