Plain of Jars
Thong Hai Hin · Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiangkhouang
Iron Age 500 BCE – 500 CE (some lids to 800 CE)·Unknown Austroasiatic? Ancestors of Lao-Tai·🇱🇦 Xiangkhouang Plateau, Laos
About
About Plain of Jars
Megalithic landscape of >90 sites with >2,100 large carved sandstone jars (1–3 m tall, up to 14 t) scattered across Xiangkhouang plateau, carved 500 BCE–500 CE, associated with mortuary rites and extensive UXO contamination from Vietnam War bombing.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Source quarries 8 km distant – how jars moved
- 02Why jars cluster in groups aligned to pathways and quarries
- 03Absence of full skeletons inside jars
Theories
- 01Distillation for funerary alcohol (Colani early theory disproven)
- 02Primary decomposition then cremation and jar burial; or jars as symbolic vessels
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.500 BCE–500 CE
- Period
- Iron Age 500 BCE – 500 CE (some lids to 800 CE)
- Culture
- Unknown Austroasiatic? Ancestors of Lao-Tai
- Purpose
- Funerary – primary or secondary burial and mortuary rituals (cremated remains found nearby)
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.500 BCE–500 CE
Initial construction
c. 1213 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
19.4300° N · 103.1530° E · 1100 m · 3 mapped features
- 19.4306° N · 103.1522° E
Site 1 (Thong Hai Hin – largest, 300+ jars)
megalithic site - 19.3191° N · 103.1541° E
Site 2 (Hai Hin Phu Salato – hilltop jars)
megalithic site - 19.2949° N · 103.1456° E
Site 3 (Hai Hin Sitdam Pu Kham)
megalithic site
Gallery