Max Planck Institute researchers have recreated one of the smells used in the mummification of important Egyptian mummies over 3,500 years ago. According to The Guardian, scientists have recreated the ”scent of eternity” or ”scent of life,” which was utilized during the mummification of a woman named Senetnay. She worked as a wet nurse in Egypt, earning the title Ornament of the King. The project was published in the journal Scientific Reports. Scientists from Germany’s Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology evaluated chemicals from six balm samples collected from two jars containing Senetnay’s lungs and liver for the process.
More than 3,500 years ago, the aroma was composed of beeswax, plant oil, fats, bitumen, Pinaceae resins, a balsamic component, and tree resin. A range of complicated scientific processes, including chromatography, were used to recreate this fragrance. The smells were successfully reproduced by scientists using only the remaining organic remains found at the bottom of the empty jars. It was also discovered that different smells were utilized to embalm persons depending on their social status.
For Egyptians, these smells clearly had a host of other meanings related to spirituality and social status
”The embalming ingredients found in Senetnay’s balms are among the most elaborate and diverse ever identified from this period, revealing the meticulous care and sophistication with which the balms were created,” said lead study author Barbara Huber, a doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Germany. “The presence of such a vast array of ingredients, including exotic substances like dammar or Pistacia tree resin, indicates that extremely rare and expensive materials were used for her embalming. This points to Senetnay’s exceptional status in society”, Ms Huber added.
Carole Calvez, a French perfumer, collaborated with the researchers to replicate the aroma, which will be displayed at Denmark’s Moesgaard Museum. The Metropolitan Museum already has an inscribed replica jar dedicated to Senetnay on display. The team thought it would present visitors with an “immersive, multisensory experience,” transferring the mystique of Ancient Egyptian mummification to the modern day.
Dr. William Tullett, an expert in sensory history at the University of York, who was not involved in the work, told The Guardian, “To our noses, the warm, resinous, pine-like odors of larch might be more reminiscent of cleaning products, and the sulfurous scent of bitumen might put us in mind of asphalt. But for Egyptians, these smells clearly had a host of other meanings related to spirituality and social status.”