The study of vessel residue from 11th century graves at the Shekshovo cemetery in Suzdal’ Opolye

The method of gas chromatography was used to examine extracts of the residue samples from four ceramic hand-made vessels discovered in ground cemetery graves of the 11th century from the Shekshovo cemetery in Suzdal’ Opolye that presumably contained remains of funeral food. The examined extracts revealed monocarboxylic fatty acids with 12-18 carbon atoms as well as a large number of unidentified fatty acids, which are products of unsaturated fatty acid oxidation. Comparing fatty acid profiles of the extracts from the archaeological vessel residue and published data on animal fats and vegetable oil identification, it was suggested that the residue samples contained residual animal fat; regarding the content of palmitic and stearic acids in samples 1, 3, 4, most likely, the fat of ruminant animals was used; while sample 2 contained the fat of a monogastric animal.