[Paper] Excavating among the megaliths: recent research at the ‘Plain of Jars’ site 1 in Laos

via Antiquity, 12 Aug 2019: New research about the Plain of Jars in the journal Antiquity. More news stories in the link below, but the news tend to highlight the “macabre” aspect of infant burials.

The date and significance of the megalithic jar sites of central Laos are comparatively poorly understood features of the Southeast Asian archaeological landscape. First explored systematically in the 1930s, only limited research on these sites has been undertaken since. This article presents the recent excavations at Ban Ang—or site 1—a megalithic jar site of nearly 400 jars, located in Xieng Khouang Province. The results confirm the findings of earlier research, but additionally reveal a range of mortuary practices, high rates of infant and child mortality, and new evidence dating these interments to the ninth to thirteenth centuries AD.

Source: Excavating among the megaliths: recent research at the ‘Plain of Jars’ site 1 in Laos | Antiquity | Cambridge Core

See also:

• Excavation Of Laos “Plain Of Jars” Suggests Thousands More Burials May Contain Bodies Of Interred Children And Infants | IFL Science, 12 August 2019
• Scientists say eerie ‘Plain of Jars’ contain remains of dead CHILDREN as they discover there could be THOUSANDS more of the mysterious vessels at burial sites in Laos | The Daily Mail, 13 August 2019
• Spooky pots containing remains of dead BABIES found in mysterious ‘Plain of Jars’ – where thousands could be buried | The Sun, 14 August 2019
• Mysterious ‘Plain of Jars’ may be the burial place for thousands of dead babies and children, experts say | Fox News, 16 August 2019