Plain of Jars
- Date of account
- Iron Age, broadly first millennium BCE; function remains debated
- Location
- Xieng Khouang Plateau, Laos
- Source
- model_recalled_reference
- Record updated
- 2026-10-10
Record summary
The Plain of Jars comprises thousands of large stone vessels distributed across upland sites in Laos. Archaeological work associates the principal construction period with the Iron Age, although dates and regional sequences continue to be refined. Proposed functions include funerary containers, mortuary monuments, storage vessels, or elements in wider ritual landscapes. Bombing and unexploded ordnance have restricted research and damaged contexts. The sites offer a strong comparison for monumental mortuary traditions, quarrying, and landscape organization, but their exact social meaning and cultural affiliations remain incompletely resolved.
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