Perfume companies have a penchant for naming their products with titles like Eternity and Forever. However, scientists have now truly captured the essence of everlastingness, thanks to the Ancient Egyptians. By recreating the scent of embalming fluid used to preserve a mummy from the renowned Valley of Kings, researchers have given this mummified lady the chance to live eternally in the afterlife. This fragrance not only showcases the ingenuity of the Egyptians over 3,500 years ago in preserving the organs of Senetnay, a crucial member of Pharaoh Amenhotep II’s entourage, but it also carries hints of sweet beeswax, which protected against bacteria, vanilla-like scents from plant materials, and the pine-scented aroma of tree resins.
This scent tells a story of an exceptional woman known as the ‘Ornament of the King,’ who breastfed Pharaoh Amenhotep II in infancy. Additionally, the embalming fluid holds a less fragrant smell reminiscent of a freshly paved road, as bitumen was used by the Ancient Egyptians to seal off the organs from moisture and insects. Through painstaking analysis and the recreation of the scent on tester slips, scientists are excited because their findings suggest that Ancient Egypt was engaged in international trade nearly 1,000 years earlier than previously believed. Evidence of peppercorns in the nostrils of Pharaoh Ramses II’s mummy hinted at trade with southern India, as these peppercorns could only be sourced from there. However, the presence of a fragrant resin called dammar in the embalming fluid used for Senetnay suggests that international trade may have been taking place even earlier, around the time of her death, 250 years before Ramses II. The dammar resin likely originated from dipterocarp trees growing in southeast Asia. Confirming the presence of dammar resin would indicate that the ancient Egyptians had access to southeast Asia almost a millennium earlier than previously thought.
Barbara Huber, the lead researcher from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, stated, “These results demonstrate the advanced nature of the Ancient Egyptian mummification process. However, recreating the scent of eternity is like experiencing a time machine.” By presenting the ancient aroma at the Moesgaard Museum in Denmark as part of an upcoming exhibition, visitors will have the opportunity to catch a whiff of the ancient Egyptian mummification process. This fragrance combines the sweet essence of beeswax, which protected against bacteria, with the vanilla-like scents from plant materials and the pine fragrance of tree resins.
The scent was recreated by extracting samples from two jars containing Senetnay’s liver and lungs, which were taken from the Valley of the Kings in Thebes (now Luxor) over a century ago by archaeologist Howard Carter. The embalming fluid was broken down into individual molecules through scientific techniques like chromatography, which separates substances based on their unique breakdown patterns. The researchers collaborated closely with French perfumer Carole Calvez and sensory museologist Sofia Collette Ehrich to faithfully recreate the embalming fluid’s scent. A detailed account of the six intricate ingredients of the embalming fluid can be found in the journal Scientific Reports.
These complex ingredients highlight the extraordinary status of Senetnay, evident from her presence in the Valley of the Kings, a necropolis typically reserved for pharaohs and powerful nobility. One of these ingredients is resin from the Pistacia tree, also used in other tombs to mummify food items such as chicken for individuals to enjoy in the afterlife. Miss Huber emphasized, “The scent of eternity represents more than just the fragrance of the mummification process. It embodies the rich cultural, historical, and spiritual significance of Ancient Egyptian mortuary practices.”
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