This dataset provides the raw SIMS data for the publication "Mechanisms of lipid preservation in archaeological clay ceramics revealed by mass spectrometry imaging" by Simon Hammann, David J. Scurr, Morgan R. Alexander and Lucy J. E. Cramp. In this paper we used ToF-SIMS and Orbi-SIMS to analyse the lipid distributions in modern and archaeological ceramics to gain better understanding about the mechanisms and modes of lipid preservation in archaeological pottery. Using SIMS we were able for the first direct to map the distributions of lipids in archaeological samples with sub-micrometer spatial resolution and show how they are concentrated in distinct zones. Further data suggested the reaction of calcium carbonate with fatty acids to form the calcium salts as an additional mechanism in lipid preservation.