When the tiny stopper is delicately eased free, a mere wisp of scent imprisoned for over 650 years is released.
In a unique experiment, scientists at the L'Oreal perfume institute in Paris tried to analyse the ingredients of a perfume whose precious container survived the Black Death, which annihilated a third of the population of Europe.
— From Scent of tragedy lingers in a 650-year-old perfume bottle buried by victim of pogrom, an article (with video) at the Guardian about a new exhibit, Treasures of the Black Death, that opens later this week at The Wallace Collection in London. Many thanks to Jessica for the link!