Few visitors wandering through the mummy galleries at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo have the opportunity—or perhaps the inclination—to smell the aromas wafting off the gilded sarcophagi and elaborately wrapped bodies of ancient Egyptian elites on display in glass cases.

Researchers who sniffed mummified remains in the name of science were greeted more with a blessing than a curse

Researchers who examined nine mummies found that though there was some difference in the intensity of their odours, all could be described as "woody", "spicy" and "sweet". They say recreating the composition of the smells chemically will allow others to experience a mummy's whiff - and help to tell when the bodies inside may be starting to rot.