A small ointment container found in a funerary urn from the ancient Roman city of Carmo, now Carmona in the province of Seville, has allowed a University of Córdoba research team to chemically dissolve the composition of perfumes dating back to the 1st century AD.

This groundbreaking research, led by the FQM346 team led by Professor of Organic Chemistry José Rafael Ruiz Arrebola, in collaboration with Carmona city officials, marks the first time that the composition of a Roman perfume more than 2,000 years old has been identified.

The results were published in a Swiss scientific journal. Heritage Carmona municipal archaeologist Ruiz Arrebola, Juan Manuel Roman; and UCO researchers Daniel Cosano and Fernando Lafont share the entire technical and scientific process that allowed the world to “smell” the past Roman Empire.

Discovered during an archaeological intervention in a mausoleum found during the construction of a house on Rue Sevillat in 2019, the remains of the perfume have been preserved, solidified in a bowl cut from quartz and still perfectly sealed. As Roman explains, this was a mass grave that probably belonged to a wealthy family and contained cremation urns for six adults – three women and three men – in addition to numerous funerary objects (donations and offerings).

In one of the glass jars, over the cremated skeletal remains of the deceased (in this case, a woman aged 30 to 40), a cloth bag (remains preserved) containing three amber beads and a small rock crystal (hyaline quartz) with an ointment inside, carved into an amphora, was placed.

Perfume containers used to be made of blown glass, and on very rare occasions examples of this material have been found, making them very valuable and extremely expensive because of their hardness due to their properties and intricate carving. In addition to the uniqueness of the find, the truly extraordinary aspect of the find, that it was perfectly sealed and that solid perfume residues were preserved in it, allowed this study to be carried out.

Ruiz Arrebola emphasizes that using dolomite, a type of carbon, as a plug, and the bitumen used to seal it, is key to excellent preservation of the artifact and its contents.

Various instrumental techniques, such as gas chromatography combined with X-ray diffraction and mass spectrometry, were used to determine what perfumes were made of. According to Ruiz, analysis determined that the small cylindrical plug was made of dolomite (limestone) and bitumen was used to create a perfect fit and seal.

The two ingredients that are associated with perfumes: the base or binder, which ensures the preservation of flavors, and the essence itself, findings only according to the descriptions of Pliny the Elder. In this case, the basis was vegetable oil; Probably olive oil, according to some indications reflected in the analysis, but this point cannot be conclusively confirmed.

And the point?

According to the results of a chemical analysis by the University of Córdoba, Rome smelled patchouli, an essential oil derived from a plant of Indian origin. pogostemon cabin A substance widely used in modern perfumery and unknown in Roman times. The monumental features of the tomb in which it is found and, above all, the material from which the vessel is found show that it is a very valuable product.

This research was a landmark in Roman perfumery and the use of patchouli as an essential oil. More research is currently being done on other unique materials (such as amber, fabrics and pigments used in the murals) stored in the Mausoleum of Carmona.