The findings, researchers said, which were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, show that smell can be used as a way of analysing the preserved bodies in a non-invasive way, but they also want to find a way to recreate the smells in museums to give visitors the full mummy experience.
Professor Ali Abdelhalim, co-author and director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, said: "To the ancient Egyptians, mummification was an important mortuary practice aimed at preserving the body and soul for the afterlife through a detailed ritual of embalming of the deceased using oils, waxes and balms.
They said smell was a key consideration for ancient Egyptians when it came to the mummification process, meaning that even 5,000 years later, conservators widely consider the aroma "pleasant" due to the use of resins and oils such as pine, cedar, and juniper.
Lead author professor Matija Strlic said: "The smell of mummified bodies has for years attracted significant interest from experts and the general public, but no combined chemical and perceptual scientific study has been conducted until now.
The researchers used various techniques and scientific equipment to identify the chemicals emitted by the mummified bodies, then the panel of human "sniffers" described the smells in terms of quality, intensity, and pleasantness.
