By Stephen Beech
Scents from the past are being recreated using state of the art technology to give museum visitors a sniff of history.
Biomolecular archealogy can bring ancient odours to life and allow people to breathe in the past, say scientists.
Advances in the field have shown that ancient objects can retain the “molecular fingerprints” of past aromatic practices.
Scientists say those molecules provide “unprecedented” insight into ancient perfumery, medicine, ritual, and daily life.
In a new study, published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, researchers showed how museums can use molecular evidence to engage audiences with the sensory worlds of the past.
The team, led by archaeo-chemist Dr. Barbara Huber, combined their expertise to create a new way of converting biomolecular data into accessible, visitor-ready olfactory recreations.
Dr. Huber, from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology and the University of Tübingen in Germany, said: “This research represents a significant shift in how scientific results can be shared beyond academic publications.”
The process began with a briefing, prepared by Dr. Huber in collaboration with scent-based storytelling consultant Sofia Collette Ehrich, establishing a crucial link between scientific data and perfumery practice.
Building on that foundation, perfumer Carole Calvez developed a series of formulations that translated ancient chemical signatures into a scent suitable for museum environments.
She said: “The real challenge lies in imagining the scent as a whole.
“Biomolecular data provide essential clues, but the perfumer must translate chemical information into a complete and coherent olfactory experience that evokes the complexity of the original material, rather than just its individual components.”
To demonstrate, the team developed two formats for presenting ancient scents in public settings.
Using The Scent of the Afterlife, a recreation of the aromas that accompanied the ancient Egyptian mummification process, they created a portable scented card and a fixed scent diffusion station integrated into exhibition design.
The scented card quickly became an integral part of guided tours at the Museum August Kestner in Hanover, Germany, where the artefacts that inspired the project are displayed.
Curator Dr. Christian Loeben said: “Scent provides a new approach to mummification, moving away from the scare factor and horror movie clichés towards an appreciation of the motivations behind the actions and the desired results.”
The fixed scent station format was installed in the exhibition Ancient Egypt – Obsessed with Life at the Moesgaard Museum in Aarhus, Denmark.
Curator Dr. Steffen Terp Laursen said: “The scent station transformed how visitors understood embalming.
“Smell added an emotional and sensory depth that text labels alone could never provide.”
This work demonstrates how molecular traces of the past can be transformed into meaningful cultural experiences.
Ehrich added: “We hope to offer museums compelling new tools for bringing visitors closer to past environments and practices via sensory interpretation and engagement.”
