The world's oldest known perfumes have been found on the island reputed to be the birthplace of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, lust, and beauty, Italian archaeologists announced last week.
Discovered on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus in 2003, the perfumes date back more than 4,000 years, said excavation leader Maria Rosaria Belgiorno of the National Research Council in Rome.
Remnants of the perfumes were found inside an ancient 3,230-square-foot (300-square-meter) factory that was part of a larger industrial complex at Pyrgos.
The buildings were destroyed during an earthquake in 1850 B.C., but perfume bottles, mixing jugs, and stills were preserved under the collapsed walls.
The artifacts are currently on display at the Capitolini Museum in Rome, along with modern reproductions of the centuries-old scents.
Dwight Loren is a perfumer and fragrance consultant with Essential Creations in New Jersey and a member of the American Society of Perfumers.
He said Grasse, France, is considered to be the center of modern perfume making, but the industry is known to have ancient roots.
"How sophisticated it was we don't know, but certainly people were looking at natural ingredients to enhance either their own body or their environments or to use them in medicine," he said.
Scents Re-created
Belgiorno's team analyzed the remains of the mixing jugs and identified 14 fragrances native to the Mediterranean region used in perfume production.
Extracts of anise, pine, coriander, bergamot, almond, and parsley are among the ingredients the ancient perfume-makers preferred.
The team also discovered four "recipes" concocted with the different fragrances.
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