A recent study about the smell of Egyptian mummies reached some surprising findings . The ancient bodies did not smell bad , the researchers found . Instead , they say , the remains mostly smelled good .
Cecilia Bembibre is director of research at University College London's Institute for Sustainable Heritage . “In films and books , terrible things happen to those who smell mummified bodies ,” she said . “We were surprised at the pleasantness of them ."
The researchers reported the leading descriptions of the smells as “woody ,” “spicy ” and “sweet .” They also reported a floral or flowery smell . That smell could be from pine and juniper resins used in mummification ; a process designed to protect the body from decay .
The study appeared recently in the Journal of the American Chemical Society . It used both chemical examinations and several human smellers to study nine mummies . The mummies , some around 5 ,000 years old , had been housed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo .
Bembibre , one of the report’s writers , said the researchers wanted to study the smell of mummies because it has long been a subject of interest for the public and researchers alike .
She added that even fiction writers have written pages of work on the subject — for good reason .
Scent , or smell , was an important consideration in the mummification process . This process used oils and plant -based materials to protect the body and its spirit for the afterlife . Mummification was largely used for powerful people such as pharaohs and other leaders .
Pleasant smells were linked with purity and gods . Bad smells were signs of corruption and decay .
Researchers did not want to directly measure the mummies , because doing so might be damaging . Instead , researchers were able to take measurements that did not involve touching the mummies . Researchers from UCL and the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia were able to measure smells , pesticides , and other effects due to mold , bacteria or microorganisms .
Using technical instruments to measure air molecules released from sarcophagi was very important , said Matija Strlič , a chemistry professor at the University of Ljubljana .
"It tells us potentially what social class a mummy was from and therefore reveals a lot of information about the mummified body ...." he said . “We believe that this approach is potentially of huge interest to other types of museum collections .”
Barbara Huber of the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Germany was not involved in the study . Huber said the findings provide important data on compounds that could preserve or damage mummified remains . The information could be used to better protect the ancient bodies for future generations .
Huber said that over thousands of years , differing conditions have changed the scents of the mummies in a major way .
Huber wrote a study two years ago that examined a jar that had contained mummified organs of a woman . The goal was to identify the material used to preserve the organs and what that would show about ancient trade paths .
Researchers of the current study hope to do something similar . They want to use their findings to develop “smellscapes ” to recreate the scents they discovered . They also want to change the experience for future museumgoers .
Bembibre said museums generally ask visitors to experience everything with their eyes . She added that seeing mummies through “a glass case reduces the experience because we don’t get to smell them .”
Smelling the scents of mummification would improve the museum visitors ’ experiences , she suggested , as smell is one of the ways that people understand the world .
I’m John Russell .
Brian Melley reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English.
mummy – n. an ancient body treated for burial with preservatives
resin – n. natural organic substances that are usually transparent or translucent and yellowish to brown in color and are often made from plant materials; they are also soluble in organic solvents but not in water, are electrical nonconductors, and are used to cover and protect surfaces
decay – n. to go through or cause to go through decomposition
fiction – n. something invented by the imagination
museum – n. a place devoted to the care, study, and display of objects of interest, importance or value
sarcophagus – n. an ancient container used for holding human remains
potentially – adv. possibly
reveal – v. to show plainly
approach – n. a way of dealing with something
preserve – v. to keep in a good state or condition
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