via Asian Age, 10 March 2019: India’s cultural impact across Southeast Asia, seen in art and architecture.
The imprint of Indian culture and religions is visible in the temples, performance arts and folk tales of Southeast Asia.
Source: Footmarks of the ancient India
via Aju Business Daily, 06 Mar 2019: Yoni discovered in Vat Phu by a team from South Korea.
South Korean archaeologists have discovered a gold and bronze religious relic called “Yoni” during an excavation at a ruined Khmer Hindu temple complex in southern Laos that would become an important element in studying the history of ancient Khmer exchanges.
The relic in the form of pedestal was 63mm in height and 110mm in width, the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) said Wednesday in a statement. Its material was bronze with the outer surface gold-plated. There are five small holes with a diameter of 3.5 mm on the top with a water spout running along the side, the state body said.
It is presumed to be a religious relic related to Sadha Linga, and Laotian archaeologists confirmed that it was the first discovery of such a relic in the Southeast Asian country, according to the administration.
Source: Archaeologists discover important religious relic in ancient Khmer temple in Laos
via Vientiane Times, 07 Feb 2019: Heritage sites in Savannakhet and Champassak provinces to receive aid.
A French aid organisation has expressed its intention to help the Lao government protect heritage sites and infrastructure in Savannakhet and Champassak provinces.
Director General of the Heritage Department, under the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Thongbay Phothisan, said yesterday that Agence Francaise De Developpement (AFD) has sent a team of French experts to Laos to set up a project that will preserve some of Laos’ oldest and most important buildings.
Source: France to help protect Laos’ cultural heritage | Asia News Network
via Vientiane Times, 04 Feb 2019: Laos expects that the Plain of Jars will be listed in the the World Heritage list later this year.
Good news is expected for Laos’ Plain of Jars (Thong Hai Hin) in July when UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee meets to make a decision on the site’s status, a government official said last week.
Director General of the Heritage Department at the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Thongbay Phothisan, said that after a lot of hard work to process the necessary paperwork, he hopes the Plain of Jars will soon be listed by UNESCO as Laos’ third World Heritage Site.
Source: Vientiane Times
via Unesco, a web platform listing the government policies related to culture published between 2012 and 2018. Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia are represented in the map.
Source: Policy Monitoring Platform | Diversity of Cultural Expressions
via SEA Globe, 10 January 2019: Feature on excavations of the oldest modern human remains in Southeast Asia, found in Laos.
Source: Uffe Wilken, SEA-Globe 20190110
At 80,000 years old, some human fossils found in a cave in northeastern Laos are the oldest known remains of modern humans in mainland Southeast Asia. Together with fossils from animals, they give us a snapshot of life in this part of the world millennia ago
Source: Laos: Cave fossils shed light on the world of 80,000 years ago
via Bangkok Post, 05 April 2018: Visiting Luang Prabang and finding the tomb of Henri Mouhot. I featured the tomb in one of my Instagram photos previously.
If you have been to Luang Prabang, you probably have climbed the 300 steps up Phousi, the hill that stands in the middle of the town. From the top, you can see not just the breadth and length of the former Lao capital and a Unesco World Heritage site but also the Mekong River a stone’s throw to the west and the smaller Khan River nearby to the east. The two waterways meet just north of Phousi.
via Vientiane Times, 01 April 2018:
The Department of Heritage and international organisations met here this week to discuss ongoing projects to conserve and restore the temple ruins at Vat Phou Champassak.
The ancient temple’s protection and preservation must be undertaken to maintain its listing as a UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) world heritage site.
Source: Govt, int’l partners review conservation of Vat Phou Champassak | Vientiane Times
via Archaeology Magazine
Photojournalist Jerry Redfern recently accompanied a team of archaeologists as they excavated at the Plain of Jars in Laos. This enigmatic landscape is filled with thousands of massive stone vessels, some fashioned more than 2,500 years ago. Redfern’s video explores how the team is searching for clues about who created these mysterious jars and what they were used for. To read an in-depth feature on excavations at the Plain of Jars, go to “Letter From Laos: A Singular Landscape.”
Source: Videos > Plain of Jars Mystery | Archaeology Magazine
via ANN, 15 Feb 2018: The Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts is online and more accessible than ever.
VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN) – The nation’s heritage of palm leaf manuscripts is now available for everyone to read free of charge via their computer, tablet or mobile phone, Director of the National Library of Laos (NLL), Khanthamaly Yangnouvong said recently.