Plain of Jars mystery solved

For nearly a century, the thousands of colossal stone urns scattered across north-central Laos, known as the Plain of Jars, have presented a profound archaeological mystery. While local folklore suggested these megaliths were used by ancient giants to brew celebratory rice wine, scientists have long leaned towards a more solemn purpose: the interment of the dead.

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The jar looked a bit like a giant stone cauldron that had collapsed in on itself.

New research, published in the journal Antiquity, provides compelling evidence supporting the scientific hypothesis. In the winter of 2022, archaeologists investigated a peculiar, squat structure on the Xieng Khouang Plateau. Excavating the sediment within this vessel, named Jar 1, they discovered it was not a cauldron for liquid but a multigenerational crypt. It contained the jumbled, disarticulated remains of at least 37 people.

This discovery shattered the rice wine myth and significantly altered the understanding of early Southeast Asian history. The excavation revealed an artfully arranged communal tomb, meticulously organized to maximize the chamber's limited capacity. Skulls were stacked neatly around the jar's rim, and long thigh bones were laid across the edges, suggesting a burial site for an entire family, lineage, or close-knit community. Archaeologists described it as an "ossuary."

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Honestly, it was one of those rare excavation moments where everyone becomes very quiet. We expected archaeology, but not such a dense, intact concentration of body parts.

Researchers theorize that the deceased, ranging from infants to adults, were likely placed in these "death jars" long after their initial demise. This points to the practice of secondary burial, a ritual common in Southeast Asia during that period. In secondary burial, bodies would first decompose elsewhere, perhaps through temporary entombment or exposure, before the bones were gathered and interred collectively in sites like these urns. This practice offers a new perspective on the funerary customs and societal structures of early Indigenous peoples in the region.

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Essentially, it was an ossuary.