Why are hundreds of huge stone jars scattered across north-east Laos?
Scientists come one step closer to finding an answer
ASK LAO elders, and many will tell you that their lands were once ruled by giants. The greatest was a warrior king named Khun Jeuang whose armies, the story goes, celebrated their conquests in modern-day Xieng Khouang province in north-east Laos, with whisky served from enormous stone urns. Today more than 2,000 of these vessels, standing up to three metres high and weighing as much as 30 tonnes, can be found scattered across the prosaically named Plain of Jars. Generations of Lao grandchildren have heard the tale. But the details can be fuzzy. Asked when the events took place, Champa, a 60ish local, estimates it was “looong ago”.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Jars on a plain”
Asia May 22nd 2021
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- Why are hundreds of huge stone jars scattered across north-east Laos?
- Samoa’s long-serving prime minister is struggling to cling to power
- Opposition to the Tokyo Olympics is intensifying in Japan
- As a second wave devastates India, Narendra Modi vanishes
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