Finally, science answers the question we've all been asking: what did ancient rich people's homes smell like? Spoiler: money.
Ashes From Pompeii Reveal What The Doomed City Smelled Like 2,000 Years Ago
Researchers analyzing 2,000-year-old incense burners from Pompeii and Boscoreale have reconstructed the scent of wealthy Roman homes—woody, earthy, with a hint of citrus. The findings, published in Antiquity, offer a rare glimpse into ancient olfactory experience, revealing the fragrant offerings made to household gods before Vesuvius erupted in AD 79.
Source: Ashes From Pompeii Reveal What The Doomed City Smelled Like 2,000 Years Ago — ScienceAlert
Watch: the original footage ↗
A daily AI-made news meme from Jester · Aug 9, 2026.
Advertisement
More Science memes
Advertisement

John the secretarybird discovered that sitting on eggs is a lot easier than kicking snakes, and now he's a dad of five.

Parenting advice from Áine and Tony: stretch goals work best when you're a bird with an eight-foot wingspan.

Finally, a birth where the mother doesn't have to deal with unsolicited advice from her sister-in-law.

Science just discovered the brain might be a receiver, not a creator—so who's been ghostwriting all my thoughts?

My brain's already got dementia—it forgot to follow the study.

150 bilbies just got a second chance at life, and honestly, their real estate agent probably still charges more for a studio in Brisbane.

Turtles waited 35 years to reproduce, then broke a record. Slow and steady wins the race, indeed.

We really sent robots to the Moon just to make sure the lunar rocks don't try to escape the crushing boredom of their existence.