A team of Franciscan archaeologists digging in the biblical town of Magdala in what is now Israel say they have unearthed vials of perfume similar to those that may have been used by the woman said to have washed Jesus' feet.

The perfumed ointments were found intact at the bottom of a mud-filled swimming pool, alongside hair and make-up objects, the director of the dig conducted by the group Studium Biblicum Franciscanum told the Terrasanta.net religious website.

— From Perfume vials from Christ’s era unearthed at MSNBC, with many thanks to JanJan for the link. You can read more at Terrasanta (article is in Italian, and includes a slideshow where you can see the location of the dig and images of the terracotta ampoules).

As previously reported, archaeologists have discovered a 4000 year old perfumery on the island of Cyprus. The site was preserved after it was "buried by an earthquake in the second millennium BC".

Artifacts from the site can now be seen at the Palazzo Caffarelli in Rome, where they will be on display through September as part of the exhibit "I profumi di Afrodite e il segreto dell’olio". Apparently, they have also recreated some of the fragrances for visitors to smell. Read more about the exhibit (in Italian) at Musei Capitolini. (quote via ansa.it, found via upi)

Another very interesting perfume article (link no longer working, sorry) discovered by Karen, this one from the Scotsman. It seems that Italian archaeologists have uncovered a 4,000 year old perfumery on a hillside in Cyprus, and used fragments from clay bottles to reconstruct some of the fragrances made there. From another article on the same subject (link no longer working) in Reuters:

And, archaeologists have discovered, modern preferences are not too different from those of 4,000 years ago.

“I smelt this one and immediately thought, Pino Silvestre!” said Belgiorno…

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