by Saskia Buechner-Matthews and Anna den Hollander
Broken pottery sherds may look ordinary, but in archaeology they can open doors to entire past worlds—if we ask the right questions and listen carefully.
Through organic residue analysis, archaeologists study traces of organic molecules such as lipids, proteins, DNA, and carbohydrates that become embedded in the ceramic fabric of vessels during use. Remarkably, these microscopic residues can survive for thousands of years, preserved within the pores of the pottery itself.
For this study, nine pottery sherds from Meroitic Jebel Barkal were analysed to explore what they once contained. The samples came from everyday vessel types closely linked to food preparation and daily activities, including bread moulds, cooking pots, and dishes. Scientific analyses were carried out at BioArCh, University of York, a specialist laboratory for archaeological chemistry, using state-of-the-art analytical techniques. This work was funded by a generous grant from Steve Klinsky to the University of Michigan.
Despite challenging preservation conditions, the results were highly rewarding. Lipid concentrations were generally low—just above the threshold at which results can still be meaningfully interpreted. This is common for archaeological ceramics of this age, particularly those preserved in arid and hot environments like Sudan. Low lipid yields are not a failure of the method; rather, they reflect the life histories of the vessels themselves. Pots were heated, washed, reused, and eventually discarded in antiquity, after which burial conditions, soil chemistry, heat, and time continued to alter the surviving residues. Over centuries, fats slowly degrade, leaving only faint chemical traces behind.
It is precisely these faint traces that make the results so exciting. Several vessels contained evidence for animal fats, and two sherds—likely from a small handmade cooking pot and a dish—showed clear signals of dairy products derived from animals grazing on C4 plants. [C4 plants are drought‑resistant species that use a four‑carbon photosynthetic pathway to stay productive in hot, dry climates. Examples from Sudan include millets such as sorghum, and certain desert grasses found on the Savannah]. Another sherd preserved chemical markers associated with aquatic resources, most likely fish, which is particularly interesting as our excavations have recovered virtually no fish bones, despite the site being located along the Nile River. A further cooking pot yielded fat residues resembling those of modern pig fat, alongside chemical signals suggesting a mixture of foods. These may have included a C4 plant such as millet together with other animal products, as well as traces consistent with cereals, fruits, and other non-leafy plants.
Because lipid concentrations are so low, these interpretations rely on multiple lines of evidence rather than a single signal. Encouragingly, the residue results align well with other archaeological data from the site. Milking scenes are depicted on a late Meroitic bronze bowl from Karanog (see below), and archaeobotanical analyses from Jebel Barkal have identified a range of charred C4 plants, including sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), possible domesticated African bristlegrass (Setaria cf. sphacelata), and wild grasses such as barnyard grass (Echinochloa sp.) and wild sorghum (Sorghum arundinaceum). Other cereals, including wheat (Triticum sp.) and six-row hulled barley (Hordeum hexastichum), were also present at the site.
Taken together, these strands of evidence allow us to begin sketching a seasonal picture of food production and animal management. During the rainy summer months, fresh savannah grasses and millets likely grew in the wadis, providing ample grazing for cattle that could roam more freely. In the drier winter months, wheat and barley were cultivated, and cattle were probably penned and fed fodder to keep them away from fields. This fodder may have consisted of by-products from summer crops like millet or plant material gathered earlier in the year. Such practices could help explain the strong C4 signatures observed in some of the animal fats recovered from the pottery.
These findings are particularly exciting because they show that even faint chemical traces can yield robust interpretations when approached carefully. Here, archaeology becomes a productive balance between science and interpretation: molecular data provide the evidence, while archaeological context gives it meaning.
Organic residue analysis does not always deliver simple answers, but it does deliver new perspectives. As work on these materials continues and interpretations are refined, we invite you to stay tuned for further results—as these vessels continue to reveal more about everyday life in the past.
Reference: Woolley, C.L., D. Randall-McIver (1910) Karanog. The Romano-Nubian Cemetery. Philadelphia.
