Abstract This study investigates the functional and symbolic roles of ceramic vessels from Early Iron Age funerary contexts at Domasław (Lower Silesia, Poland). We analysed 40 ritual-type objects against a comparative set of 34 standard cemetery vessels, integrating archaeological context with GC–MS organic residue analysis and multivariate statistics (PERMANOVA, NMDS, LEfSe). Presence/absence data for compound classes indicate that ‘added/offering’ vessels and morphologically ‘special’ forms differ from the cemetery baseline, whereas urns and miniature rhyta do not; fatty-acid profiles alone show no significant separation. Suites consistent with plant-derived oils, animal fats and conifer resins suggest patterned but non-specific use in ceremonies such as libation, anointing and aromatic dosing. Tentative identifications of pharmacologically active compounds are treated as non-determinative pending targeted confirmation. Overall, a conservative reading of molecular signals, paired with archaeological context, refines what constitutes ‘special’ ritual ceramics in the Hallstatt mortuary sphere.
Józefowska et al. (Sat,) studied this question.