Southampton liner Titanic will be resurrected at a science festival today.

An audience at the Edinburgh International Science Festival will be among the first members of the public to smell the perfume, which was found near the wreck of the liner in 2000.

It was recreated by perfumers who established a "fingerprint" of the chemical composition of the Titanic perfume, then found an exact match for the fragrance.

Perfume historian David Pybus described the smell as a mixture of rose and violet.

He said: "It is certainly reminiscent of some of the fine fragrances on the market today."

Mr Pybus, known as the Indiana Jones of the perfume world, was alerted to the perfume's existence when one of the 65 vials discovered on the Atlantic bed broke during excavation, making the whole of the recovery ship smell of roses.

He explained: "The conditions in the debris field near the sunken Titanic were ideal for preservation.

"The perfumes were found in perfect condition and the quality is unsurpassed, even today."

The original scent was created by Adolphe Saalfield, a German Jewish immigrant who lived in Manchester.

Although Saalfield survived the sinking of Titanic, traumatised by what had happened he never resumed his business and died 12 years later.

Ironically the disaster that destroyed Saalfield's dream has preserved his fragrance. It is be launched as part of a range of retro-perfumes in the second half of this year.

The Titanic left Belfast, where it was built, for Southampton on April 2, 1912, and sank 13 days later, with the loss of more than 1,500 lives.

Last week a menu from the first meal served aboard the Titanic sold at auction for £51,000.

The menu was among four collections of memorabilia which went under the hammer during the British Titanic Society's Convention held in Southampton.

For more Titanic stories go to www.thisistitanic.co.uk