All articles tagged with #plain of jars
Archaeologists studying thousands of stone jars on Laos’ Plain of Jars found they served as multigenerational ossuaries, housing the bones of many people in an orderly, communal tomb and indicating a secondary-burial tradition. The discovery shifts the jars from myth to a sophisticated mortuary system connected to ancient trade networks, while leaving open questions about the people who created and used them.
Excavation of a large stone jar at Site 75 on Laos’ Plain of Jars uncovered the remains of about 37 individuals, dating to 9th–12th centuries, indicating secondary interment and multigenerational mortuary use rather than a single burial. The find included grave goods such as beads from South India and Mesopotamia, suggesting long-distance trading connections; some remains show signs of cremation. The research proposes that smaller jars housed initial decomposition before bones were moved to larger jars, hinting at a lifecycle of mortuary rites across generations, though researchers caution that practices varied locally across Laos.