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Image Credit: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Excavation Reveals New Mortuary Tradition at Laos’ Plain of Jars
A new archaeological study has revealed important evidence for a previously unknown mortuary tradition at the Plain of Jars in northern Laos, one of Southeast Asia’s most mysterious megalithic landscapes. The research focuses on Site 75, where archaeologists fully excavated a large stone vessel known as Jar 1.
The Plain of Jars contains hundreds of large hollowed stone jars spread across more than 120 known sites on the Xieng Khouang Plateau. Although their exact purpose has long been debated, many researchers have suggested a funerary role. The new findings provide strong evidence that at least some jars were used in complex burial practices.
Inside Jar 1, researchers found disarticulated human remains representing at least 37 individuals, including children and adults. The arrangement of bones suggests that the jar was used for secondary burial, meaning that remains were likely placed inside after an earlier stage of decomposition elsewhere.
The excavation also uncovered pottery, an iron knife, a small copper-based bell, glass beads, and stone slabs. Chemical analysis of the glass beads indicates links with South Asia, the Middle East, and wider Southeast Asian trade networks, suggesting that communities in the Lao highlands were connected to long-distance exchange routes.
Radiocarbon dating of human remains and charcoal indicates that Jar 1 was used between about AD 890 and 1160. The study suggests that the jar may have served as a place for repeated mortuary activity over several generations.
The discovery offers new insight into the social and ritual life of the people who used the Plain of Jars. It also shows that the stone jars were not simply monuments, but may have played an active role in multi-stage funerary practices connected to ancestry, memory, and regional exchange.
Published on: 19-05-2026
Edited by: Abdulmnam Samakie
Source: Antiquity
