Scientists have deciphered recipes for embalming mummies

The characteristic "museum" odour of ancient Egyptian mummies was not just the result of time: it hides the chemical signature of the ingredients used to treat the bodies. Researchers have proposed a method that allows you to determine the composition of balms without damaging bandages and tissues.

When a person stands next to an Egyptian mummy, he often feels a persistent, slightly "musty" aroma. For a long time, it was explained by aging materials and decomposition. However, a new analysis has shown: it is a mixture of volatile organic compounds (VOC), which can tell both about the recipe for embalming, and the period to which the burial belongs.

Usually, it is difficult to establish the composition of embalms: to do so, you have to take fragments of bandages or tissues, dissolve them and carry out laboratory analysis - that is, actually damage the object. The team of researchers proposed a more gentle approach: to analyse not the materials themselves, but the air in the space above them.

In the work scientists used the method HS-SPME-GC/Q-TOFMS (microextraction in the gas phase + gas chromatography + high-precision mass spectrometry). It allows to "collect" molecules that evaporate from the surface of balsams and tissues, to separate them and to identify chemical markers. The study included 35 samples of balms and bandages from 19 mummies spanning more than two thousand years of history.

At the end of the analysis, the team recorded 81 different volatile compounds, which they grouped into four main ingredient categories: fats and oils, beeswax, plant resins and bitumen.

The authors also note that chemical "signatures" vary by era: early mummies are more likely to show simpler mixtures based on fats and oils, while later periods show complex compositions with expensive resins and bitumen.

Another conclusion is that different parts of the body may have been treated differently. For example, the volatile profiles in the head and torso regions are sometimes different, which may indicate separate prescriptions for different areas or organs.

The development is seen as a useful tool for museums and curators: VOC screening can be a rapid, non-destructive method for the initial assessment of material composition and condition of an exhibit. However, the researchers emphasise that at this stage the method is primarily suitable for preliminary diagnostics - and in some cases micro-samples may still be needed for accurate interpretation.