I learned a great deal from my early years of tinkering. I read more about the subject and discovered that I enjoyed the history of perfumery more than creating my own essential oils and blends. I did try my hand at more complex extraction techniques and explored a number of chemistry based extraction processes. I found it far easier to simply purchase good oils from commercial vendors while understanding the process fragrant oils are derived from. What scents I still extract are simple and easy.    During the peak of my interest I encountered an exhibition sponsored by Emory University in Atlanta. The exhibition was titled The Fragrant Past: Perfumes of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. The exhibition was held at the Emory University Museum of Art and Archaeology between April 5th and June 25th of 1989. This exhibition and the replicas of ancient perfumes that I purchased at this event inspired the creation of this web page.

Much of what I have to offer on this web page is derived from various sources that I've encountered over the years. Knowing this, I will make every attempt of documenting my sources so that others may follow my thread of thought and research. To support this activity I have included a complete bibliography and links at the end of this work. I strongly encourage anyone even vaguely interested in perfume to purchase The Fragrant Past : Perfumes of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar from the Emory University Museum of Art and Archaeology.    Within the catalog of the exhibit Professor Giuseppe Donato describes how he first became involved in process of experimental archaeology. His research began sometime during the mid nineteen-seventies as a researcher from the Service of Archeological Subsidiary Sciences, "a multi-disciplinary research center investigating archaeological questions with the help of the most sophisticated technology available." His first research placed him in Romania to study the contents of a tomb of the first century A.D. located in Mangalia, by the Black Sea. "Among the most important objects recovered from this sepulcher were the remains of a 'beauty' case containing glass vials and bottles with traces of aromatic products. . . The challenge. . . was the reconstruction of a number of ancient perfumes or, more exactly, ointments. The rediscovery of ancient perfumes one of the funda mental amenities of life in ancient society . . ."

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