Jump to content
reader

The Plain of Jars

Recommended Posts

From News Corp Australia

image.png.791e2e92d57561b6e9226003edbc93ae.png

The jars are spread across the plains and forests of the Laos' mountainous northern regions. Pictured area collection of

the jars in a forest. Picture: ANUSource:Supplied

 

The mysterious ‘Plain of Jars’ in Laos has long been a source of fascination to archaeologists and a site for tourists to visit.

Now, experts have revealed more of the site’s grisly secrets.

The stone jars, which are up to 10-feet tall, dot the landscape in Xieng Khouang Province in central Laos.

There are more than 2,100 of the tubular megalithic jars in the area, according to UNESCO, which has designated the ‘Plain of Jars’ a World Heritage site.

The strange megalithic structures were first explored in the 1930s, although only limited research has been done since then, according to experts writing in the journal Antiquity.

While it is known that the jars were used for “mortuary activity,” relatively little is known about the specifics of the human remains placed in the jars.

A 2016 excavation of an area known as “site 1” containing nearly 400 jars, however, has shed new light on the use of mysterious structures.

The research reveals “a range of mortuary practices, high rates of infant and child mortality, and new evidence dating these interments to the 9th to 13th centuries AD,” experts write, in the latest issue of the journal Antiquity.

Researchers found that over 60 per cent of the “mortuary population” at site 1 was less than 15 years of age, and almost half of those died at the fetal stage or in early infancy.

The high infant and fetal mortality noted at site 1 indicate that ill health and/or malnutrition was an issue for the local population, the researchers write.

While the remains of 18 individuals were found during a limited excavation of site 1, scientists from the Australian National University, the University of Melbourne, James Cook University, the University of Otago and the Laotian Department of Heritage say that thousands more may be interred there.

Continues with photos

https://www.news.com.au/travel/world-travel/asia/mysterious-plain-of-jars-may-be-the-burial-place-for-thousands-of-dead-babies-and-children-experts-say/news-story/18be4a1c208184f4cce86d944aabcf32

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was there in 2013 and found the place fascinating. I hired  car with driver in Luang Prabang for long day trip but it was not a good idea and it's long trip albeit very scenic. Going back was scary because driver made impression that he is falling asleep behind the wheel but we made it.

Recommended but I advise to plan to stay at least one  night near the site. 

few pictures

 

jar 1-4.JPG

jar2.JPG

jar-3.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would love to visit and see these (pictures from Google), 

I hadn't realised just how big these stone jars were and the huge tasks there must have been in hewing the blocks of stone, shaping them with primitive tools, and then transporting them to where they are now, and therefore the Civilisation that generated them?

My long, long time lad of many years standing is from Laos and knows Phonsovan and these jars well - I feel a field-trip coming up next holiday :) 

785853744_PhonsavanLaosPlainofJars001.jpg.bd9f436c9b838117d8eb97ad7cac34bd.jpgPlain-of-Jars-14.jpg.52b5325d94aea946bee290eedf0cd235.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I visited the plain of Jars a couple of years ago.   

I took the bus to Vian Vieng, spent one night there, then took a bus onto Phonsovan. However, at the time, it would have made more sense to take a bus direct from Vientiane, which takes a better road, as I discovered when leaving to go south.  Although the bus driver seemed to think he should drive like Lewis Hamilton.

I imagine that even with the imminent arrival of the railway link to Viang Vieng, a direct bus from Vientiane would be better.  

Pictures:  Jars, goats and evidence of US excavation work (conducted via explosives dropped from altitude)

P5020563.JPG

P5020583.JPG

P5020574.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...