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Unveiling the Scents of the Afterlife: Did Ancient Egyptian Mummies Smell Like the Gifts of the Three Wise Men?
Researchers are investigating whether or not the scent of an Egyptian mummy might allow them to find what supplies have been used to protect the physique with out disturbing it. They extracted air from the sarcophagi of 9 mummies and requested professional smellers to fee the scents for modern odour qualities comparable to woodiness and sweetness.
They then analysed every air pattern to determine unstable compounds liable for sure smells. The staff additionally hope their work can present curators with an artificial recreation of how mummies scent to make displays extra partaking.
Researchers from UCL and the University of Ljubljana carried out the first-ever systematic evaluation of the smells related to mummified our bodies. Using superior know-how, together with an digital ‘nostril’ and skilled human sniffers, they examined 9 mummies displayed and saved at Cairo’s Egyptian Museum.
Coffin with a mummified physique within the show space of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
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The findings, printed within the Journal of the American Chemical Society, provide a brand new perspective on historical embalming practices and the way museums protect these historic artifacts.
“The scent of mummified our bodies has for years attracted important curiosity from consultants and most of the people, however no mixed chemical and perceptual scientific research has been carried out till now,” mentioned Professor Matija Strlič, lead creator of the research. “This ground-breaking analysis actually helps us higher plan conservation and perceive the traditional embalming supplies. It provides one other layer of information to complement the museum exhibition of mummified our bodies.”
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To determine the chemical substances launched by the mummies, the staff used a fuel chromatograph and mass spectrometer. A panel of skilled sniffers additionally evaluated the scents’ high quality and depth, permitting researchers to differentiate between odors originating from the unique mummification course of and people from fashionable conservation strategies.
Dr. Cecilia Bembibre, a member of the analysis staff, highlighted two important points of the research: “First, new data was revealed by the smells, highlighting the significance of utilizing our senses to grasp the previous. Secondly, whereas a lot of the research on mummified our bodies have taken place in European museums thus far, right here we labored intently with Egyptian colleagues to make sure their experience and perceptual expertise have been represented, and we collectively developed an moral and respectful method to learning the mummified our bodies.”
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One of the research’s key findings is the traditional Egyptians’ consciousness of the hyperlink between scent and purity, notably within the embalming of gods and pharaohs. The course of concerned oils, resins, and balms comparable to pine, cedar, myrrh, and frankincense, which nonetheless emit nice aromas after 5,000 years.
In the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, Psalm 45 gives a clue to how the ancients felt about perfume: “All your robes are aromatic with myrrh and aloes and cassia”).
In Psalm 141, prayers are likened to incense. The sense of scent is without doubt one of the oldest in animal evolution. And, even when it isn’t the prime sense for people, it stays one in all nice efficiency.
Interestingly, the presence of myrrh and frankincense has led some researchers to take a position a few historic connection to the items introduced by the Three Wise Men to the new child Jesus, as described within the Christian custom. These useful resins, recognized for his or her non secular and preservative properties, have been extremely prized within the historical world and have been generally utilized in spiritual rituals and burial practices. Is there a hyperlink to the supplies utilized in mummification or on the Jewish Temple as choices?
Looking forward, the analysis staff goals to create “smellscapes” – recreations of the scents of historical mummified our bodies – to boost museum exhibitions. This modern method might permit guests to expertise historical past in a brand new, immersive manner, not solely enriching our understanding of the previous but additionally reworking how we interact with it.
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