T rex breath and Queen Elizabeth’s car: scientists creating ‘time machine for the nose’

The smellscapes will feature in London Intersections, an exhibition celebrating the 200th anniversary of UCL. Photograph: Smellscapes

From the interior of Queen Elizabeth II’s car to the scent of ancient Egyptian funerary practices, museumgoers are getting a whiff of the past like never before.

Experts say the approach is more than a pungent stunt: it’s part of a broader effort to try to reconstruct the sensory worlds of the past, with collaborations involving historians, scientists, heritage experts and perfumers.