(NLDO) - What emanates from Egyptian mummies - the oldest of which is up to 3,500 years old - is completely different from what is depicted in movies.
Writing in The Conversation , Dr. Cecilia Bembibre from University College London (UCL - UK) said that she and her colleagues from many countries conducted a bold study, including the step of directly smelling 9 Egyptian mummies with their noses.
Scientists carefully extract odors from the space inside coffins containing Egyptian mummies - Photo: EGYPTIAN MUSEUM
The team gathered nine mummies from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the oldest dating back 3,500 years.
These mummies were preserved in different ways and were found from different graves, giving scientists an overview.
They used metal tubes containing a polymer that traps volatile organic compounds to collect odors from the mummies.
The metal tubes were then brought into the laboratory of the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), where several researchers took turns smelling the tubes, with each tube experiencing 15-20 minutes.
One of the scientists is experiencing the smell of an Egyptian mummy - Photo: THE CONVERSATION
At first, they were prepared for something terrible, like in movies about Egyptian mummies, or describing the stench from ancient tombs and creepy coffins like this.
But then, they were shocked to realize that over the millennia, the coffins containing mummies still retained the pleasant scent that ancient embalmers tried to create.
Common descriptions reported by the smelling group included "woody," "floral," "sweet," "spicy," "old," and "plastic-like."
Some also identified the scents of pine oil, frankincense, herbs, and cinnamon. One mummy in particular gave off a faint scent of black tea.
This scent also mixed with the faint smell of decomposed animal fat used in the embalming process, the smell of human remains, and the smell of plant-based insecticides that the museum used to preserve the mummies.
The incense tubes were also analyzed using specialized techniques, which helped to determine more specifically the composition of the mixtures and solutions that the ancient Egyptians used for this particular ritual.
Researchers are also creating a faithful chemical simulation of what they smelled from the mummies for the public to experience.
It is expected that by 2026, visitors to the Egyptian Museum will be able to access this interesting but equally creepy service.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/ngui-mui-9-xac-uop-ai-cap-cac-nha-khoa-hoc-bi-soc-196250218085400201.htm
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