3,500-Year-Old Ancient Fragrances Reveal What Egyptian
Mummification Smelled Like
Learn
how traces on Egyptian mummification jars were used to make
perfume, bringing ancient fragrances and societies back to
life.
Written by Jenny
Lehmann | 3 min read
Museum
display for Ancient Egypt in Denmark's exhibition for the
Scent of the Afterlife.(Image
Credit: Ehrich SC, Calvez C, Loeben CE, Dubiel U, Terp
Laursen S and Huber B (2026) Archaeol. 4:1736875/CC BY)
Sometimes all it takes is a little whiff to
take us back into our past: the scent of our grandparents’
detergent or the smell of our childhood home can induce
surprisingly strong emotions. Researchers long assumed the
scents of ancient worlds wouldn’t stand the test of time,
but reviving them could help us better relate to and
engage with societies of the past. An interdisciplinary
research team of archaeologists, chemists, and a perfumer
did exactly that.
For their project Scent of the Afterlife, they
developed a way to convert biochemical traces sampled from
embalming jars of ancient Egypt into fragrances suitable
for museum exhibitions. Summarized in a paper published in
Frontiers, the team hopes to provide methods for
museums that expand how visitors can engage with the past
using their senses.
“This research represents a significant shift in how
scientific results can be shared beyond academic
publications,” explained archaeo-chemist Barbara Huber
from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology and the
University of Tübingen in a press release.
Museum visitors
smelling the Scent of the Afterlife
card.
(Image Credt: Ehrich
SC, Calvez C, Loeben CE, Dubiel U, Terp Laursen S
and Huber B (2026) Archaeol. 4:1736875/CC BY)
Reviving Ancient Fragrances for Museums
Microscopic traces of DNA, proteins, and fats on artifacts can offer little clues
about the past. Recently, the attention of biomolecular
archaeology has expanded to include other molecular traces
— chemicals that evaporate from solids and float in the
surrounding air — such as volatile organic compounds
(VOCs).
Experts previously ignored these compounds because they
didn’t expect them to survive. Advances in technology can
now identify aromatic fingerprints from ancient objects
like incense, perfumes, resins, and medicine, giving us
the opportunity to explore ancient rituals and daily life
like never before.
Archaeologists, chemists, curators, a perfumer, and an
olfactory heritage consultant worked collaboratively to
translate the biochemical signatures of 3,500-year-old
Egyptian canopic jars into an authentic fragrance that can
be used in museums and other public outreach facilities.
Egyptian Mummification Scent Takes Visitors Back in Time
Creating a compelling fragrance requires more than
identifying chemical compounds in a sample.
“The real challenge lies in imagining the scent as a
whole,” explained perfumer Carole Calvez, who developed a
series of formulations. “Biomolecular data provide
essential clues, but the perfumer must translate chemical
information into a complete and coherent olfactory
experience that evokes the complexity of the original
material, rather than just its individual components.”
The result was the creation of the Scent of the
Afterlife in two different formats suitable for
public settings. One is a portable scented card handed out
to visitors, and the other is a fixed scent diffuser
within the exhibition.
Feedback from visitors to the August Kestner Museum in
Hanover, Germany — home to the artifacts sampled for the
project — was positive. They reported that the integration
of scent made them feel immersed in ancient Egypt, with
the cards becoming a key part of the museum’s guided tours.
“Scent provides a new approach to mummification, moving
away from the scare factor and horror movie clichés toward
an appreciation of the motivations behind the actions and
the desired results,” said curators Christian Loeben and
Ulrike Dubiel in the statement.
Creating Multisensory Museum Experiences
The Moesgaard Museum in Aarhus, Denmark, installed the
fixed scent station as part of their Ancient Egypt –
Obsessed with Life exhibition, drawing immediate
attention.
“The scent station transformed how visitors understood
embalming,” said curator Steffen Terp Laursen in the
releaase. “Smell added an emotional and sensory depth that
text labels alone could never provide.”
This collaborative project shows how combining different
disciplines can create innovative ways to bring the past
back to life by engaging a multitude of our senses.
“We hope to offer museums compelling new tools for
bringing visitors closer to past environments and
practices via sensory interpretation and engagement,” said
olfactory consultant Sofia Collette Ehrich in the release.
Besides increasing visitor interest and engagement,
similar projects can help us understand ancient
perfume-making, healing, sanitation, and cosmetic
practices in more detail, and with them, past societies themselves.
Article Sources
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Jenny Lehmann is
an Associate Editor at Discover
Magazine who writes articles on
microbiology, psychology, neurology, and
zoology, and oversees the Piece
of Mind column of the print issue.View Full Profile
