An international team of scientists from the Max Planck Society Institute for Geoanthropology (Germany) has succeeded in recreating the scent of compounds the ancient Egyptians used to mummify humans more than 3,500 years ago. The results of the research were published at: magazine scientific reports.
Researchers studied the ingredients of embalming mixtures used in the mummification of a noble Egyptian woman more than 3,500 years ago. They were discovered in 1900 during burial excavations in the Valley of the Kings.
The analysis showed that the mixtures contained beeswax, vegetable oils, animal fats, bitumen, coniferous tree resins, balsamic substances, as well as dammar or pistachio tree resins. In addition, these components were probably imported, as coniferous trees and dammara grow far from the excavation site.
Scientists have also managed to recreate the smell of the mixtures; these contained coumarin and benzoic acid. In terms of smell, they are similar to vanilla and scented resins, respectively. The created aromatic composition was called “Spirit of Eternity” and will be used in the museum exhibition. It will be presented in an upcoming exhibition at the Moesgaard Museum in Denmark.
“These are complex and varied ingredients typical of that early period. They bring a new understanding of the intricate practice of mummification and also speak to the development of the trade routes of Ancient Egypt. The ingredients of the balm make it clear that the ancient Egyptians imported the materials they needed from ancient times from regions outside their province. puts it”, the authors concluded.
Earlier archaeologists establishedthat ancient Egyptian children suffered from a blood disease.