Have you ever wondered what mummies actually smell like?
Well, researchers sniffed 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummies in the name of science, and what they found was a bit surprising.
Well, researchers sniffed 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummies in the name of science, and what they found was a bit surprising.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00What if I told you mummies actually smell good?
00:02I know that sounds a bit unbelievable, but researchers sniffed 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummies in the name of science,
00:09and what they found out was a bit surprising. They didn't smell like decaying bodies.
00:14Instead, the scientists reported smelling scents they described as woody, spicy, and even sweet.
00:20Some mummies had floral notes like pine and juniper.
00:23But just to be clear, the researchers didn't smell the actual mummies or touch them.
00:28They used high-tech sniffing methods to analyze the air molecules around these mummies.
00:33So why would a 5,000-year-old mummy smell pleasant?
00:36Well, ancient Egyptians used special oils, resins, and balms to preserve bodies for the afterlife.
00:42Pleasant smells meant purity, bad smells a sign of corruption and decay, and these scents might reveal
00:49what a social class a mummy belonged to.
00:52The more upper-class a person was, the better they smell in the afterlife.
00:56And this research isn't just about curiosity. Scientists say it could help museums preserve mummies for even longer.
01:03But there's more. Scientists now want to recreate these ancient scents for museum visitors.
01:08So just imagine walking into an exhibit and being able to literally smell history.
01:13So be honest. Would you actually want to smell a 5,000-year-old mummy, or is that a hard no?
01:18Let us know in the comments.