Not Same In Films And Books, Researchers Find Ancient Egyptian Mumi Harum

JAKARTA - In contrast to the depictions obtained from films and books, researchers found that ancient Egyptian mummies were fragrant and fun.

Departing from curiosity in the name of science, the researchers found the ancient Egyptian mummy that was well preserved, it smelled fragrant.

"In films and books, bad things happen to those who smell the body of a mummy," said University College London's Institute for Sustainable Heritage Research Director.

"Kayu," "pedas" and "manis" are the main descriptions in the practice of sniffing out mummies. Interest scents were also detected, which may have come from pine sap and junipers used in the embedding.

Research published on Thursday in the journal "American Chemical Society" uses human chemical analysis and panel panel to evaluate the smell of nine 5,000-year-old mummies that have been stored or displayed at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

Researchers want to study the smell of mummies systematically, as it has long been an interesting subject for the public and researchers, said Bembibre, one of the report's authors.

Archaeologists, historians, conservators to fiction writers have dedicated their works pages to the subject for the right reasons.

Aroma is an important consideration in the process of mumification that uses oil, wax, and balesem in preserving the body and soul for life after death.

The practice is mostly for Pharaoh and aristocrat, with a pleasant odor associated with purity and gods, while unpleasant odors are signs of damage and decay.

Without taking samples of the mummy itself, which would be invasive, researchers from UCL and the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia could measure whether the aroma came from archaeological objects, pesticides or other products used to preserve bodies, or from damage caused by fungi, bacteria, or microorganisms.

"We are quite worried that we will find records or clues about the rotting body, even though this is not the case," said Matija Strlic, professor of chemistry at Ljubljana University.

"We are specifically concerned about indications of microbial degradation, but that is not the case, which means that the environment in this museum is actually quite good in terms of preservatives," he explained.

"Using technical instruments to measure and quantify the air molecules emitted from the sarkofagus, to determine the status of the preservation without touching the mummy like the Holy Light," said Strlic.

"This tells us from the social class where the mummy came from and therefore reveals a lot of information about the mummy's body that is relevant not only to conservators, but also to curators and archaeologists," he said.

"We believe this approach has the potential to be very attractive to other types of museum collections." Barbara Huber, a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Germany who was not involved in the study, said the findings provided important data on compounds that could preserve or damage the remains of the mummy.

This information can be used to better protect ancient bodies for future generations.

"However, the study also underscores the main challenge: the smell detected at this time does not necessarily come from the period of mumification," said Huber.

"For thousands of years, evaporation, oxidation and even storage conditions have significantly changed the original aroma profile," he explained.

Two years ago, Huber wrote a study analyzing the residues of a jar containing the mummy organ of a royal woman to identify the material for embedding, its origins and what it reveals about trade routes.

He then teamed up with a perfume maker to create an interpretation of the smell of embedding, known as "Aroma Badminton," for an exhibition at the Moesgaard Museum in Denmark.

Researchers in recent studies hope to do the same, using their findings to develop "smellscapes" to recreate the scents they detect artificially and improve experiences for museum visitors in the future.

"The museum is called a white cube, where you are asked to read, see, approach everything remotely with your eyes," Bembibre said.

"Observing a mummy through a glass box reduces the experience because we can't smell it. We can't know the experimental mumification process, which is one way we understand and engage with the world," he said.