Laos, Asia
The Plain of Jars is a collection of over 2,000 megalithic stones shaped like jars scattered throughout the central plain of the Xiangkhoang Plateau in Laos. The jars range from 1 to 3 meters in height and diameter. The heaviest weighs 14 tons.
According to Lao legends, a race of giants created the jars after victory over their enemy. Using the jars to brew and store large amounts of lau hai, which translates to ‘rice beer’ or ‘rice wine’.
It is believed that the actual purpose of the jars was to act as a type of distilling vessel where a body would be placed until it decomposed, later allowing for cremation and burial of the skeletal remains. This aligns with the funeral practices of Laotian royalty that saw a corpse placed into an urn during the beginning stage of funeral rites, allowing the soul of the deceased to undergo the transformation into the spirit world.
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