Plain of Jars
ທົ່ງໄຫຫິນ | |
stone | |
Official name | Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang – Plain of Jars |
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Criteria | Cultural: (iii) |
Designated | 2019 (43rd session) |
Reference no. | 1587 |
Region | Southeast Asia |
The Plain of Jars (
The Xiangkhoang Plateau is at the northern end of the
Jar sites
More than 90 jar sites have been identified in
Since most of the jars have lip rims, it is thought that the jars originally supported lids, although few stone lids have been recorded; this suggests that the bulk of lids were fashioned from perishable materials. Stone lids with animal carvings have been found at a few sites such as Ban Phakeo (Site 52). The bas-relief carvings are thought to depict monkeys, tigers and frogs.
Stone discs have also been found. The discs, which differ from the lids, have at least one flat side and are grave markers which were placed on the surface to cover or mark a burial pit. These grave markers appear more rarely than jars, but are found in close proximity. Similarly, the stone grave markers are unworked, but have been intentionally placed to mark a grave. To the north of Xiangkhouang an extensive network of intentionally placed largely unworked stones marking elaborate burial pits and chambers are known as the "standing stones of
The jars lie in clusters on the lower foothills and ridges of the hills surrounding the central plateau and upland valleys. Several quarry sites have been recorded, usually close to the jar sites. Five rock types have been identified: sandstone, granite, conglomerate, limestone and breccia. The majority of the jars are sandstone. It is assumed that Plain of Jars people used iron chisels to manufacture the jars, although no conclusive evidence for this exists. Regional differences in jar shape have been noted. While the differences in most cases can be attributed to choice and manipulation of rock source, some differences in form (such as variations in the placement of jar apertures) appear to be unique to specific sites.
A cave at Site 1 is a natural limestone formation with an opening to the northwest and two man-made holes at the top. These holes are thought to have been chimneys for a crematorium. French geologist and amateur archaeologist
No further archaeological research was conducted until November 1994, when Professor Eiji Nitta of Kagoshima University and Lao archaeologist Thongsa Sayavongkhamdy surveyed and mapped Site 1. Nitta claimed that the surrounding burial pits were contemporaneous to the jars, as they were cut into the surface on which the jars had been placed. Nitta believed the jars were symbolic monuments to mark the surrounding burials. He dated the Plain of Jars to the late second or early first millennium BC based on the burial urn and associated grave goods. Sayavongkhamdy undertook surveys and excavations between 1994 and 1996, supported by the Australian National University. Sayavongkhamdy and Peter Bellwood interpreted the stone jars as a central person's primary or secondary burial, surrounded by secondary burials of family members. Archaeological data collected during bomb clearance operations supervised by UNESCO archaeologist Julie Van Den Bergh in 2004–2005 and again in 2007 provided similar archaeological results. Like Nitta, Van Den Bergh concluded that the jars and surrounding burials were contemporaneous.
Variations in the practices of cremation inside jars and secondary burial outside jars, as noted by Colani, have proven difficult to explain. The cremated remains seem to mainly belong to adolescents. While the bomb clearance operations did not involve emptying the jars and thus no additional evidence could be gathered, Van Den Bergh suggested that the stone jars initially may have been used to distill the dead bodies and that the cremated remains within the jars represent the most recent phase in the Plain of Jars. The jars with smaller apertures may reflect the diminishing need to place an entire body inside.
The suggestion that the jars, as in traditional Southeast Asian royal mortuary practices, functioned as "distilling vessels", was put forward by R. Engelhardt and P. Rogers in 2001. In contemporary funerary practices followed by Thai, Cambodian, and Laotian royalty, the corpse of the deceased is placed into an urn during the early stages of the funeral rites, at which time the soul of deceased is believed to be undergoing gradual transformation from the earthly to the spiritual world. The ritual decomposition is later followed by cremation and secondary burial.
The royal burials are across watercourses from the habitation areas in a geographically high, prominent area. Among the
Colani connected the location of the jars sites to ancient
Two principal iron ore deposits exist in Laos, both in Xiangkhouang. The presence and locations of the numerous jar sites in Xiangkhouang may relate to trading and mining activities. History has shown that Xiangkhouang, at the northern end of the Annamite Range, provides relative easy passage from the north and east to the south and west.
Within the geographic setting of Xiangkhouang, the jar sites may reflect a network of intercultural villages, whereby the locations of the jars are associated with long-distance overland routes which connect the Mekong basin and the Gulf of Tonkin System. The jar sites show superficial regional differences, such as jar form, material, and the number of jars per site, but all share common setting characteristics such as burial practices, elevated locations, and commanding views over the surrounding area.
The most investigated and visited Jar site is close to the town of
Legends and local history
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Plainofjars_1.jpg/220px-Plainofjars_1.jpg)
Lao legends tell of a race of giants who inhabited the area and who were ruled by a king, named
Present day
Between May 1964 and the summer of 1969, the Plain of Jars was heavily bombed by the
The large quantity of unexploded bombs in the area, especially
The
On 6 July 2019, the Plain of Jars was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[9]
See also
- Campaign Z
- Bomb Harvest
- List of megalithic sites
- Sa Huỳnh culture
- Giant jars of Assam
References
- ISBN 978-1-4939-6519-9. Archivedfrom the original on 2019-07-06. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- ^ a b "Researchers solve more of the mystery of Laos megalithic jars". phys.org. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ Sayavongkhamdy, T., Bellwood, P., & Bulbeck, D. (2000). "Recent archaeological research in Laos". Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association, 19,
- ^ "Voices from the Plain of Jars: Life Under an Air War". Zinn Education Project. 13 February 2016. Archived from the original on 29 April 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ Ian MacKinnon. "Forty years on, Laos reaps bitter harvest of the secret war". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ^ "MAG | Where we work > Lao PDR". 3 October 2008. Archived from the original on 3 October 2008.
- ^ "MAG | where we work > MAG Lao Visitor Information Centres". 26 November 2010. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010.
- ^ "Phase III - UNESCO Bangkok". 2 February 2009. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009.
- ^ "Seven cultural sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List". UNESCO. 6 July 2019. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
Sources
- Baldock, J and J. Van Den Bergh 2009. "Geological Mysteries at the Plain of Jars begin to unravel". Geology Today. August 2009.
- Box, P. 2000. Overview Mapping Using GIS, UNESCO Plain of Jars Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, Richard A Engelhardt, ed., UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok.
- Box, P. 2001. Mapping Megaliths and Unexploded Ordnance, UNESCO Plain of Jars Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, Richard A Engelhardt, ed., UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok.
- Box, P. 2003, "Safeguarding the Plain of Jars: Megaliths and Unexploded Ordnance in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic". ESRI, Journal of GIS in Archaeology, Volume 1-April 2003.
- Fred Branfman (compiled by): Voices from the Plain of Jars - Life under an Air War; Harper & Row 1972.
- Karen J. Coates - '"Plain of Jars" (Archaeology, July/August 2005)
- Colani, Madeleine 1935. Megaliths du Haut Laos, Publication de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient XXV-XXVI, Paris.
- Giteau, M. 2001, Art et Archeologie du Laos, Editions A et J Picard, Paris, pp. 37–57.
- Higham, C. 1989. The Archaeology of Mainland Southeast Asia, From 10,000 B.C. to the Fall of Angkor, Cambridge World Archaeology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. pp. 228–230.
- Nitta E. 1996. "Comparative study on the jar burial traditions in Vietnam, Thailand and Laos". Historical Science Reports, Kagoshima University 43: 1-19.
- Rogers P., R. Engelhardt, P. Box, J. Van Den Bergh, Samlane Luangaphay and Chantone Chantavong 2003. "The UNESCO project: Safeguarding the Plain of Jars". In A. Karlström, and A. Källén (eds) Fishbones and Glittering Emblems: Southeast Asian Archaeology 2002. Stockholm: Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities.
- Rogers, P. and J. Van Den Bergh 2008. "Legacy of a Secret War: archaeological research and bomb clearance in the Plain of Jars, Lao PDR". In E. Bacus, I. Glover and P. Sharrock (eds) Interpreting Southeast Asian's Past. Monument, Image and Text. Selected Papers from 10th Conference of EASAA, Vol. 2: 400-408.
- Sayavongkhamdy Thongsa and Peter Bellwood 2001. "Recent Archaeological Research in Laos". Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 19: 101-10.
- Stone, R. 2007. "Archaeology: Saving a Lost Culture's Megalithic Jars, Xieng Khouang, Laos", Science, 16, February 2007: Vol. 315. no. 5814, pp. 934 – 935.
- Bounmy Thepsimuong. The Plain of Jars. A Guide Book. Vientiane 2004.
- Van Den Bergh Julie 2007. "Safeguarding the Plain of Jars, an Overview". Y. Goudineau and M. Lorrilard. (eds.) Etudes thematiques 18. New Research on Laos-Recherches nouveles sur le Laos.
Further reading
- Allman, T D (August 2015). "Laos Finds New Life After the Bombs". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- Boyne, Walter J. (1 June 1999). "The Plain of Jars". Air Force Magazine. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- Branfman, Fred, ed. (2013). Voices from the Plain of Jars: Life Under an Air War. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 9780299292249. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- Ciochon, Russell L. (15 June 2009). "Laos Plain of Jars in the Wake of American Bombing". The Asia-Pacific Journal. 7 (24–3). Retrieved 16 May 2020.
External links
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