Jars on a plain
D.B.N. MURTHY
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The first glimpse of the huge stone jars strewn on the slopes and fields takes your breath away.
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The mysterious Plain of Jars lies near the town of Phonsovan, in the district of Xien Khunang, north Lao PDR (Laos). Site number 1 known as “Thong Hai Hin”, lies about 15 km away from the small town of Phonsavan, the district headquarters, near the Vietnam border. After buying the entry ticket, the visitor climbs up a small hillock and then down to the valley. It is thrilling to be able to explore the mysterious and enigmatic Plain of Jars, which holds many sec
rets. Atop the mound, one gets the first glimpse of the huge stone jars. One sees jars of all sizes on the slopes as well as in the fields.
Of what use?
Archaeological expert Madeleine Colani who carried out excavations in the Plain of Jars in 1930 believed that these were used as funerary urns to keep cremated remains.
She came to this conclusion with the evidence of beads, bracelets, bronze and iron tools found in the jars.
The stone jars are hewn out of single rocks and are cylindrical in shape with a narrow mouth. Some are massive, weighing more than a few tonnes with varying heights half a metre to nearly two metres.
But most of them weigh about 600 kg. Only a few of them have lids, again of rock.
The jars are scattered over a wide area in site number 1, a few on top of the mound and others in the valley.
Some experts opine that there could have been some order in the way these jars were placed — perhaps by a particular community for exclusive use of one particular purpose .
These jars belong to the period 2000 B.C., even before the onset of the Buddhist period in Laos, to 500-800 A.D. Mortuary practices of the tribals of the region indicate the use of cremation as well as burial. But the mystery continues as what the jars were used for. Could they have been used to store grains or for fermenting wine?
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