Unveiling the Use of Wide Horizontal Rim Vessels (Bronze Age Northwest Iberian Peninsula)

Abstract

This paper addresses a “wide horizontal rim vessel” belonging to the collection of Fundação Sousa d’Oliveira (Azores). Although its provenance and the circumstances of its discovery are currently unknown, the authors contend that this vessel should be attributed to the Iberian Northwest and, more specifically, to the Portuguese territory, in line with the highly homogenous distribution of this type of pottery. A morphological and stylistic study has been carried out establishing its singularity with regards to the decorative composition of the rim, which is without parallel amongst dozens of vessels of the same “family”. During the study of this piece, it has been possible to observe traces of soot and organic residues deposited both on its interior and exterior surfaces, which is recurrent in these vessels. The nature of these substances has never been determined in previous studies. In this article, we present and discuss the results obtained from the chromatographic analyses of the organic residue traces found on the vessel.