Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Research at megalithic jar site 52 and the discovery of new jar sites in Xiang Khouang Province, Laos

  • Field Work Report
  • Published:
Asian Archaeology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ban Phakeo is a village in central Laos near which 415 megalithic jars and other associated lithic objects were discovered. There are over 80 such sites known in central Laos and this site was assigned the number 52 in the Lao National Inventory. Site 52 was excavated in eight discrete locations. Prospection was undertaken in the surrounds of Site 52 leading to the discovery of several previously undocumented sites which appear to be quarries or transport sites. The present paper focuses on the archaeological excavations undertaken at Site 52 and the newly discovered sites presenting the results of this research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13

References

  • Colani, Madeleine (1935). Mégalithes du Haut-Laos (Hua Pan, Tran Ninh). Paris:Ecol. Fran. Ext. Or., XXXV.

  • Genovese, Rosalia. 2015. The Plain of Jars of North Laos: beyond Madeleine Colani. Ph.D.dissertation. SOAS, University of London.

  • Khamphoumy, M. 2013. The Plain of Jars in Laos. Unpublished internal report for the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Division of Archaeological Research, Vientiane, Laos.

  • Nitta, Ejji. 1996. Comparative study on the jar burial traditions in Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. Bulletin of the Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Letters, Kagoshima University 43: 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, James (1994). Surveying and Exploring in Siam, Bangkok: White Lotus press [first published in 1900 by John Murray, London].

  • Pavie, A. (1919). Mission Pavie: Indo-Chine 1879–1895, Géographie et Voyages VII, Journal de Marche (1888–1889), Événements du Siam (1891–1893). Paris: Ernest Leroux.

  • O’Reilly, Dougald, Louise Shewan, Kate Domett, Siän Halcrow and Thonglith Luangkoth (in press). “Excavating among the megaliths: recent research at ‘Plain of Jars’ Site 1, Xieng Khouang, Laos.”Antiquity.

  • O’Reilly, Dougald, Louise Shewan, Julie Van Den Bergh, Samlane Luangaphay, Thonglith Luangkoth (2018). “Megalithic sites of Laos: A comprehensive overview.” Journal of Indo-Pacific Archaeology 42: 1–31.

  • O’Reilly, Dougald, and Louise Shewan. 2016. The mysterious megalithic jars of Central Laos. The Journal of the Asian Arts Society of Australia 25 (4): 12–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sayavongkhamdy, Thongsa, and Peter Bellwood. 2000. Recent archaeological research in Laos. Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 19: 101–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shewan, Louise, Dougald O’Reilly, and Thonglith Luangkhoth (2016). “Recent excavations at a megalithic jar site in Laos: Site 1 revisited.”Antiquity Project Gallery. June 2016; 90. https://www.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/shewan351, accessed April 02, 2019.

  • Shewan, Louise, and Dougald O’Reilly, eds. 2019. Madeleine Colani’s megaliths of upper Laos. Melbourne: Barcaray International Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skopal, Nicholas and Souliya Bounxayhip. 2019. Preliminary Report on Archaeological Field Survey in Xieng Khouang Province, Laos 2019: New megalithic jar sites and confirmed locations. Unpublished report submitted to the Ministry of Information Culture and Tourism, Lao PDR Government.

  • Travers, Robert and Mone Nuan (2010). Safeguarding the Plain of Jars Phase IV; Final Appraisal, unpublished report for United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organisation.

  • Van Den Bergh, Julie. n.d. Mission report site one. Culture and Tourism: Unpublished Report to UNESCO and the Ministry of Information.

  • Van Den Bergh, Julie, and Samlane Luangaphay. 2008. Plain of Jars Archaeological Landscape: Heritage Management Plan. Unpublished report to UNESCO and the Ministry of Information. Culture and Tourism.

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to the people of Ban Phakeo for their kind cooperation and especially to Mr. Ta-eun who led the team to several undocumented megalithic sites. We also thank the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism (MoICT) of Xieng Khouang and the District offices as well as the Department of Heritage MoICT, especially Than Thongbay Phothisan, Than Viengkhao Souksavatdy, and Dr. Thonglith Luangkoth. We dedicate this paper to Khambai Yonglorya of the District office of the MoICT who worked closely with the team and sadly passed away in 2017.

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Research Council [DP150101164].

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dougald O’Reilly.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

O’Reilly, D., Shewan, L., Khamphouvong, M. et al. Research at megalithic jar site 52 and the discovery of new jar sites in Xiang Khouang Province, Laos. asian archaeol 3, 21–33 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41826-019-00023-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41826-019-00023-0

Keywords

Navigation