A Tel Aviv University team reanalyzed a vast Teleilat Ghassul collection—over 500 fragments plus 35 complete cornets—to resolve the function of Chalcolithic cone-shaped vessels.

Their study proposes that these cornets were beeswax lamps used in outdoor communal vigils and processions, solving a long-standing archaeological puzzle about their purpose.

Experimental work shows the cornets could be quickly produced by non-specialists from local clay, pointing to communal, domestic manufacture rather than elite craftsmanship.

Some interiors are unfinished, yet soot deposits in others indicate intentional lamp use, reinforcing the lighting hypothesis.

Despite varied interiors, many vessels appear ready to be coated or filled internally, suggesting they were filled with wax, while some contain soot consistent with lamps.

The findings indicate most cornets were locally produced, with at least one standardized type hinting at a measure of specialized production.

A pattern emerges of intentional destruction and disposal of used lamps after ceremonies, rather than mere discard of empty vessels.

The objects cluster near sanctuaries and ritual spaces at Teleilat Ghassul, aligning with night-time processions depicted in wall paintings.

Cornets show four main base styles but share an unfinished interior, suggesting they were lined or filled with wax rather than used as plain containers.

A probable life cycle is proposed: manufacture, ceremonial use, then deliberate breaking or disposal, consistent with ritual practices elsewhere.

Soot traces found inside some cornets, together with experimental lighting tests, support the wax-lamp interpretation over earlier doubts.

The study, published by Tel Aviv University, reframes these vessels as communal ritual luminaires integral to Copper Age ceremonies at Ghassul.