Physical Description
The Plain of Jars is finds its epicenter around the Xieng Khouang region, a city that was leveled by U.S. bombing raids during the Secret War* in the 1960s. These massive stone jars are dated between 500 BC - 800 AD and were built by the ancient Mon-Khmer people. While some jars may be small enough to lift by oneself, the largest jars reach up to 6 metric tons. They are formed from several different stones, mostly sandstone, though granite and calcified coral are not uncommon. In some cases, "lids" or large, flat, layered rocks, can be found on top of some of the jars. The jars can be seen at 400 sites throughout central Laos; though only three of these area are safe for tourists.Plausible Uses
Historians have been unsure of the purpose of Laos' jars for almost a century, though they have theorized some logical services they may have provided.Urns -- After finding burnt ashes and bones near a "double-chimneyed" cave, Colani** believed that the jars were actually urns that housed the cremated remains of the native people. The dating of unburned bones and ash from this cave match up with the time period when the jars/urns were constructed. Some archaeologists claim that this cave was actually a kiln where the jars were molded out of clay and natural rocks of the area, but considering the make-up of the jars, many disprove this theory; the jars were made of imported stone. Along with the discovery of bones and ash, Colani also found many bronze and iron artifacts, further developing her theory of a tomb-like jar.
Water Basins -- Another well developed reasoning for these jars are the benefits they offered to ancient traders. The jars are said to be placed in a line along a popular Northern-Indian trade route. When a monsoon made landfall, the rain would collect in these jars or "basins" and sit on said trade route to quench the thirst of weary merchants. This would provide a use for the "lids,"
which were meant to cover the open top of the jars and protect the water from insects and diseases. This use may also explain the beads and tools found in the urns. Beads and other items may have been offered up to the heavens as an offering for more rain, while the tools and other metal objects may have been set by the jars as a "lost and found" sort of system.
Storage -- Considering the groupings of the jars (which can reach up to 100 in a single area), one might find it plausible that the jars were used to store food and other goods in an ancient village. While the wooden houses and mud huts may have long since rotted away, the solid stone jars and their lids remain as a testament to earlier, simpler times.
The Future of The Jars
Due to Laos' tumultuous past, many of the jar sites remain inaccessible and too dangerous for archaeologists to explore. Xieng Khouang Province holds the dark title of being the most bombed region on the face of the planet. During the Secret War, America dropped four billion pounds of explosives on Laos, leveling many of its towns. However, its approximated that a third of these bombs failed to detonate. These OXDs (unexploded ordinances) lie buried in the ground, awaiting the pressure that might result from as little as a single footstep. People are injured every week by these explosives, making the exploration of Laos' monolith jars very difficult and risky. However, there is hope. The push for the Plain of Jars to become a UNESCO*** World Heritage site it making progress. While the UNESCO-Lao Plain of Jars Project surveys the regions, huge loads of OXDs still need to be removed before the Plain can be designated a Heritage site. New studies have been taken up in the Plain of Jars by Belgian archaeologist Julie Van Den Bergh who has been working on the sites regularly since 2005.The future of the Plain of Jars looks bright, though it will be many years and millions of dollars before all of the sites are cleared and their secret unveiled for the public to see.
*Secret War: America's secret involvement in the Laotian Civil War (1960-1975)
**Madeline Colani: a French archaeologist who became one of the first to report on the Plain of Jars in 1930. She published her works in her book titled, "Megaliths of Upper Laos."
***UNESCO: "United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization" seeks to preserve international sites of human history and to spread knowledge through culture.
Sources:
Wikipedia
Dark Roasted Blend [more photos]
Archaeology.com
Geology.com
Index Mundi
