Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
The White House: South Africa used its G20 presidency to undermine the group's founding principles.
US White House: South Africa refuses to facilitate a smooth transition of the G20 presidency
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Caracas: Several airlines are canceling flights to and from Venezuela until further notice
Al-Rashq: 'Israel' is fabricating pretexts to evade the agreement and return to a war of extermination, and it is the one that violates the agreement daily and systematically
Al-Rashq: We demand that mediators and the US administration pressure 'Israel' to reveal the identity of the gunman it claims Hamas sent
Hamas political bureau member Izzat al-Rashq: Reports published by Israeli sources regarding Hamas informing Witkoff that the agreement has ended are false
Al-Dali: Various Palestinian factions will participate in these important national meetings
Al-Dali: The visit carries important implications, and this is proof that Hamas attaches particular importance to this visit, given the sensitivity of the current stage
Al-Dali: The goal is to coordinate positions with Arab countries and strengthen the Palestinian national position in the face of Israeli plans
Al-Dali: A Hamas leadership delegation, headed by Khalil al-Hayya, will arrive in Cairo within the next few hours

Researchers recreate balms used on ancient Egyptian mummy

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Guardian
  • 1 Sep 2023 14:20
  • 1 Shares
3 Min Read

Scientists name the perfume of the balm as "the scent of eternity."

  • x
  • Arts
    A canopic jar from the embalming of the noblewoman Senetnay (Museum August Kestner)

After experts discovered and replicated the aroma of balms used in the mummification of an ancient Egyptian noblewoman, museum visitors will be taken back more than 3,500 years, The Guardian reported.

Researchers analyzing the remains of balms used in the mummification of a noblewoman named Senetnay have not only discovered that many of their constituents came from outside Egypt, but they have also recreated their aroma.

"Senetnay’s mummification balm stands out as one of the most intricate and complex balms from that era," indicated Barbara Huber, the first author of the research from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, as quoted by The Guardian.

According to the researchers, Senetnay lived about 1450 BC and worked as a wet nurse for Pharaoh Amenhotep II.

Howard Carter, the British archeologist who would later become famous for his part in unearthing Tutankhamun's tomb, uncovered Senetnay's canopic jars - vessels in which the deceased's mummified organs were housed - in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 1900.

Huber and colleagues examined six samples of mummification balm remnants from within two jars that formerly housed Senetnay's lungs and liver, as indicated by Egyptian inscriptions.

The scientists discovered that the balms had a complex mixture of components, including fats and oils, beeswax, bitumen, resins from pine trees, coumarin, which has a vanilla-like aroma, and benzoic acid, which can be found in many plant sources, such as cinnamon and cloves. They noted that many of the ingredients would have had to be imported into Egypt.

However, not all of the components were present in both jars, suggesting that the balms were organ-specific, while the authors suggested that it was also possible that they were the same but were poorly blended or had deteriorated.

Huber went on to say that the team had reproduced the aroma of the balms with the help of a perfumer and that it will be featured in an exhibition at the Moesgaard Museum in Denmark this autumn.

The perfume of the balm has been dubbed "the scent of eternity."

On his part, William Tullett, a sensory history expert at the University of York who was not involved in the research, pointed out that recreating odors from history was critical to understanding the link between the past and the present, as cited The Guardian.

Read more: Ancient village in Amazon possibly based on Pleiades star cluster

  • ancient civilization
  • Ancient Egypt
  • Egypt
  • Mummies

Most Read

Inside the Epstein-Rothschild web behind 'Israel’s' spy tech empire

Inside the Epstein-Rothschild web behind 'Israel’s' spy tech empire

  • Politics
  • 19 Nov 2025
Hamas fighters stand in formation as they prepare for the ceremony of Israeli captive hand over to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP)

US plot for Gaza in shambles amid continued popular support for Hamas

  • Politics
  • 17 Nov 2025
Ukrainian political analyst Mikhail Chaplyha has written that Jolie was ‘called’ to Kherson in order to divert attention from Pokrovsk. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

Strategic cities fall to Russian forces in Donbass; Ukraine denies what is happening

  • Opinion
  • 16 Nov 2025
Democracy at the civilizational crossroads: Critical analysis of bourgeois Democracy, its alternatives

Democracy at the civilizational crossroads: Critical analysis of bourgeois Democracy, its alternatives

  • Analysis
  • 19 Nov 2025

Coverage

All
In Five

Read Next

All
Nahdlatul Ulama chief faces removal over hosting pro-'Israel' speaker
Asia

Nahdlatul Ulama chief faces removal over hosting pro-'Israel' speaker

A boy tries to stand near missiles displayed in the National Aerospace Park of the Revolutionary Guard, just outside Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Key Israeli sites destroyed, nuclear docs moved to Tehran: Minister

Guy Pearce
Asia Pacific

Aussie actor 'disgusted' by Israeli 'disdain' for Palestinian life

Brigadier General Ali Jahanshahi, the newly appointed commander of the Iranian ground forces, in an undated photo (MNA)
Politics

Ali Jahanshahi appointed as new commander of Iran Army Ground Force

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS