At first whiff, it sounds repulsive: sniff the essence of an ancient corpse. But researchers who indulged their curiosity in the name of science found that well-preserved Egyptian mummies actually smell pretty good.

A new, first-of-its-kind analysis of the scents of nine mummies detected woody, spicy, herbal and rancid notes, among other odors

A team has carried out a new study, with the help of both human noses and scientific tools, to work out how a group of mummies smell today.