Limestone Canopic Jar of the Egyptian lady Senetnay (c. 1450 BCE); Museum August Kestner, Hannover (Inv.-No. 1935.200.1018).Credit: Museum August Kestner, Hannover; Christian Tepper (museum photographer)
Posted on 09/08/2023 7:53:36 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
In an innovative endeavor to create a sensory bridge to the ancient past, a team of researchers led by Barbara Huber of the MPI of Geoanthropology has recreated one of the scents used in the mummification of an important Egyptian woman more than 3,500 years ago...
The team's research centered on the mummification substances used to embalm the noble lady Senetnay in the 18th dynasty, circa 1450 BCE. The researchers utilized advanced analytical techniques—including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, high-temperature gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry—to reconstruct the substances that helped to preserve and scent Senetnay for eternity. Their research has been published in Scientific Reports...
Among those imported ingredients were larch tree resin, which likely came from the northern Mediterranean, and possibly dammars, which come exclusively from trees in Southeast Asian tropical forests. If the presence of dammar resin is confirmed, as in balms recently identified from Saqqara dating to the 1st millennium BCE, it would suggest that the ancient Egyptians had access to this Southeast Asian resin via long-distant trade almost a millennium earlier than previously known...
Working closely with the French perfumer Carole Calvez and the sensory museologist Sofia Collette Ehrich, the team meticulously recreated the scent based on their analytical findings...
In creating this smell for museum display, the team hopes to help provide an immersive, multisensory experience to visitors, allowing them to connect with the past in a uniquely olfactory way, while bringing the mystique of Ancient Egyptian mummification to the modern day.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
Limestone Canopic Jar of the Egyptian lady Senetnay (c. 1450 BCE); Museum August Kestner, Hannover (Inv.-No. 1935.200.1018).Credit: Museum August Kestner, Hannover; Christian Tepper (museum photographer)
...18th dynasty, circa 1450 BCE... would suggest that the ancient Egyptians had access to this Southeast Asian resin via long-distant trade almost a millennium earlier than previously known...
IOW, it's one of *those* topics.
Market it today as Ghoulie Patchouli.
People who study mummification aren’t wrapped too ti- nope, I can’t do that one again...
“ancient Egyptians had access to this Southeast Asian resin via long-distant trade”
Long distance trade has been around a very long time. Inuit in the Canadian arctic had Viking-made products long before the Inuit and Vikings ever met.
I’m sure Joey would want to give her a sniff.
“Smells better than a hippy” I wonder where desiccated corpses stand in. comparison to live hippies.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3675803/posts
https://freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2684571/posts
Don’t ask him about this, you’ll find out they graduated in the same class from an historically Black Egyptian university that had a swimming program.
LOLOL!
I know this is about resurrecting a smell from centuries ago, but...doom is eternal!
Pretty cool.
...May I breathe the sweet air that comes from your mouth. May I see your beauty daily. My wish is that I hear your sweet voice of the north wind, that my body may grow young with life for love of you. May you give me your arms with your life-force, that I may receive it and live. May you call on my name continually, without it having be sought... [text from KV55]
Or the trees were more growing in a wider area than thought?
This is a fascinating use of the latest technology. The Bible mentions aromas, precious spices and balms many times. Imagine being there in a naturally-perfumed world instead of the fake candle aromas and “cinnamon” Christmas decorations in Walmart. Wonderful post.
I want a TRUE multi-sensory experience of Egypt.
Such as a fully-immersive, true-physical-feeling of what it was like to be a Pharoah serviced by his many concubines.
Hey, the Pharaohs would probably want a true multi-sensory experience of what it's like to be Laz. :^)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
