Cecilia Bambibre-Giacobbo (quoted)
Appearances
Global News Podcast
Ukraine's future is focus of Munich Security Conference
We put a very fine tube inside the sarcophagus and extracted a quantity of air that we could then smell. So this is the air that would be around the mummified body. It's called a headspace technique and it's also used in perfumery. What I have here is a series of resins that would have been used in the mummification process. You have there frankincense, and this is myrrh. We did two things.
Global News Podcast
Ukraine's future is focus of Munich Security Conference
We smelled the air that was around the mummified body, but we also took a sample and took it back to the laboratory. And we used a technique called gas chromatography, which separates all the different smells in the mix of the mummified body smell. And there we were able to smell... mouldy compounds, for example, and stale compounds.
Global News Podcast
Ukraine's future is focus of Munich Security Conference
One of the findings of the study is that we were able to pinpoint four sources for the smells. And this is quite important because it helps us learn more about ancient Egypt and the mummified bodies. We found smells that had to do with the embalming process. We had smells that had to do with the synthetic pesticides that had been historically used to preserve these mummified bodies.
Global News Podcast
Ukraine's future is focus of Munich Security Conference
We also found smells that had to do with the biodeterioration process, for example, the animal fats used in the embalming, breaking down through This is useful for scientists and also for conservators who care for this collection so we can ensure that it reaches future generations.
Global News Podcast
Ukraine's future is focus of Munich Security Conference
On the other hand, we're also thinking of audiences and we want to share the experience we had smelling the mummified bodies. So we're reconstructing the smell to be presented in the museum, the Egyptian Museum Museum. in Cairo and in Slovenia as well, in a museum, so audiences can experience this important part of the significance of ancient mummified bodies.
Global News Podcast
Ukraine's future is focus of Munich Security Conference
You have their frankincense and this is myrrh. We're reconstructing the smell to be presented at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.