Secrets of the Mysterious Stone Urns
Northern Laos, Laos
One of Asia’s most mysterious ancient attractions the Plain of Jars sites spread out around the newly rebuilt town of Phonsavan and make for Laos’s most enigmatic tourist draw. Legends surround the hundreds of jars and a visit will quickly reveal that, like Stonehenge and other prehistoric sites, their original purpose can still only be guessed at.
Background
Phonsavan is the capital of Xieng Khuang Province and was obliterated during the Second Indo-China War; today the rebuilt town has made a great recovery in both infrastructure and economy, in no small part thanks to revenue brought in by travellers visiting the surrounding Plain of Jar sites.
The Plain of Jars refers to the area around Phonsavan running from the southwest to the northeast; the locations of the jars are split into several separate sites. Their history can only be guessed at however local legend says that, in the 6th century, the warrior king, Khun Jeuam, brought his army from Southern China and defeated the evil chieftain, Chao Angka in a mighty battle, followed by a huge feast at which many jars of rice wine was consumed, hence the jars littering the plain today. His six-ton 'victory cup' is a major draw.
One theory is that the jars are not scattered randomly but are said to be placed in positions which make them form constellations of stars. The French archaeologist, Madeleine Colani, did much work here in the mid-1930s and her discovery of beads, bronzes and other artefacts that led her to the conclusion the jars were funerary urns dating back some 2000 years – still the favoured opinion of many academics today.
Colani could not, however, explain how the huge and heavy jars, carved from limestone not found in the region had been transported to the plain; another mystery surrounds the artefacts she says she found at the site, for they have all since vanished.