dark brown material found inside the Abbott jug, a Late Minoan IB vessel from Egypt presently in the Brooklyn Museum. A high proportion of saturated fatty acids was found and analyzed by mass spectrometry. Some investigation of other components is presented briefly. The con-clusions are that the sample, from a source especially rich in lipids, was material originally suspended in an aqueous medium and has apparently undergone hydrolytic action at some time. The region of burial was probably arid, and the most likely source of the material is an oil-richplant seed. -- AATA