The mysterious structure of the valley of stone bowls in Laos

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-10 19:46

The Valley of Jugs is a group of unique sites that store unusual historical and archaeological monuments - huge stone jugs. These mysterious objects are located in Xieng Khouang province, Laos.

Thousands of gigantic stone vessels are scattered among the dense tropical flora. The size of the jugs ranges from 0.5 to 3 meters, and the weight of the largest reaches 6 thousand kg. Most of the giant stone pots are cylindrical in shape, but oval and rectangular jugs are also found. Round discs were found next to unusual vessels, which were supposedly used as lids for them. These pots were made from granite, sandstone, rocks and calcined coral. Scientists suggest that the age of the stone bowls is 1500-2000 years.

Interesting ? Let's understand in more detail …

Until now, scientists cannot determine the age of these creations of human hands. And maybe not human. Huge vessels are scattered over a large area. It was as if the giants were gathering for a picnic and had a lot of fun. It is believed that they are about 2,000 years old, but no one knows for sure. As they do not know who created them and why. Even more mysterious is the fact that there is no nearby rock from which these jugs are made. And dragging 6-ton artifacts across mountainous terrain from afar is not a very joyful activity.

There are three large sites in the vicinity of Phonsavan. Getting to them is not easy. Tuk-tuk drivers will offer their services, but they will break the sky-high prices. The alternative is a motorbike. Having decided on this, remember that the path is not short and rather difficult.

The mysterious Valley of jars (Plain of jars) is located in the country of Laos, namely not far from the city of Phonsavan on the plateau of the province (khwenge) of Xianghuang. Scientists have established that the period of vascular origin dates back to 500 BC. - 500 AD (Iron Age). At the moment, more than 90 places of pitchers have been found in the valley, the number of which in each varies from 1 to 392 pieces. In diameter, the sizes of vessels vary from 1 to 3 meters, they are carved from rocks and have a cylindrical shape. Many jugs have a rim at the opening, suggesting that they had lids. Teeth, glass beads, fragments of ceramic stone and bronze items, and bone tissue were found inside and near the megalithic jugs. There are many different versions of the origin of the mysterious valley of jugs, the most basic ones I will list below.

VERSION 1: THE GREATS

This is, rather, not a version, but a legend. According to one of the Laotian legends, huge giants lived in this valley long ago and the jugs belonged to them. Another legend says that the jugs were made by King Khung Chung after he defeated his enemies. They were intended to make large quantities of lao lao rice wine in honor of the victory.

VERSION 2: TRADING ROUTE

Some sources mention that similar stone jugs have also been found in countries such as India and Indonesia. Their locations coincide with trade routes. Due to this circumstance, there is a hypothesis that the jugs were made for merchants from different countries. During monsoons, rainwater was collected in stone vessels, and travelers and animals could quench their thirst. Found beads and other objects could well serve as an offering to the gods, so that rain came down and filled the jugs with water.

VERSION 3: FUNERAL RIGHTS

An interesting fact is that a cave was found near location number 1, in which two artificial holes were created. Traces of soot have been preserved inside. It is believed that this cave served as a crematorium, and the holes were chimneys. The condition of the objects and remains found in the jugs indicate signs of cremation, and around the flasks - to burials without incineration. There are several interpretations in the explanations for this fact.

One of the theories. The bodies of the upper strata of the population may have been cremated so that their souls went to heaven, and the commoners were buried so that their souls were servants of the earth.

Another version. As an option, the body of the deceased was placed in a jug, and after some time, when the soul departed to another world, cremated, and then buried again.

Third interpretation. It is likely that at first one person was buried in a jug, and for many years the relatives of the deceased were buried around the vessel.

The first archaeological excavations were carried out by the French archaeologist Madeleine Colan in the 1930s, she is sure that the giant buildings were created by representatives of a very ancient civilization and were used for funeral rituals as vessels for storing ashes. Madeleine also found a cave with burials and ash in the vicinity of the valley. According to another version, jugs were used to store food and various substances.

CURRENT STATE OF THE VALLEY OF JUGS

During the Secret War (1964-1973), American bombs exploded well in this region of Laos. The territory of Xianghuan province is still overrun with millions of unexploded mines. Not only were many of the jugs damaged and destroyed as a result of the bombing, but access to most of the locations of the vessels is still limited and extremely dangerous. Clearing the shells is not a cheap process for the poor Lao PDR. In this regard, the country calls on the valley of jugs to be given the status of a "UNESCO World Heritage Site" in order to attract funding from outside to clear the surrounding territories from mines. At the moment (April 2015), only seven pitcher locations are considered safe: the most visited Nos. 1, 2, 3 and less popular Nos. 16, 23, 25, 52.

Despite the fact that more than 400 pitcher sites have been discovered, only three sites are open to tourists. The largest of them has 250 stone vessels and is called site number 1, it is located near the city of Phonsavan.

Despite its remote location, the Valley of the Jugs still suffered greatly from the Vietnam War. A very large number of bombs were dropped in Laos between the 1960s and 1970s. Since that battle, stone jugs have kept their scars in the form of cracks in the walls and huge craters between them.

Undoubtedly, the plain of vessels would have attracted much more tourists, if not for the fact that more than 30% of the dropped bombs have not yet exploded, and remain lost and scattered throughout the valley. According to researchers, approximately 250,000 hidden booby traps are still in Laos, and tragic incidents associated with them are reported almost every week.

Perhaps someday it will be possible to unravel the mystery of the plain of vessels, but for now, be careful when traveling to Laos!

The authorities are considering the issue of granting the Valley of Kuvshinov UNESCO World Heritage Site. The difficulty of appropriation is that Xieng Khouang was bombed by the US Air Force during the Secret War, in the 70s. This is the reason why much of this amazing valley is inaccessible to tourists.

During the bombing, not only the pitchers were damaged, but the field itself, which today has many deep craters. Collectors have taken all the smaller jugs out of the hills long ago. But, despite this fact, there are still hundreds of specimens left in place, which are located in five groups. Tourists visit the most accessible place. It is called Thong Hai Hin. It is worth noting that this is where the largest of all the jugs is located.

There are more than 4,000 jugs on the Xieng Khouang plateau, but 3 sites are officially considered a tourist area:

The first is located 10 km south-west of Phonsavan, it is the largest, there are about 250 jugs there, and the weight of the largest is 3.7 tons. And there is also a cave in which, according to legend, the giants burned these same jugs. The entrance is paid, in my opinion the ticket cost around 10,000 kip.

The second site is located 15 kilometers from the city, on the hills near the village of Siengdi, where about 150 jugs have been preserved.

The latter is located a little further than the second, about 27 km from Phonsavan.

On numerous posters in travel agencies in Luang Prabang, photos of different minivans and VIP buses flaunt, but in fact it turned out that only one bus goes there a day from the bus station. The cost of a bus ticket in travel agencies is 120,000 kip, and it was sold to us under the guise of VIP BUS tickets. At the station itself, a ticket at the box office cost 90,000 kip and it was a Regular bus, so it's worth it in your free time drive up to the station and buy a ticket in advance, travel time is about 8 hours with a couple of stops.