Nose for old news: Project to recreate historical smells

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LONDON — A team of historians, scientists, artificial intelligence experts and perfumers announced on Monday a new project to archive the smells of Europe’s past.

From the fragrance of perfumes to the stench of the Battle of Waterloo, the ODEUROPA project will look to identify, describe and recreate the aromas that wafted across the continent from the 16th to the 20th century.

William Tullett, a smell historian from Anglia Ruskin University and a member of the ODEUROPA team, said he hoped the archive would bring new insights and transport the public into a bygone era.

“The one thing the public is interested in about the past is what it was like to be there,” he told AFP.

“I…

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