Hundreds of giant jars lie scattered in the
central high plains near Phonsavan. Their origin is unknown. The jars are made
of sandstone, limestone and granite, materials not to be found in the area. It
is believed that a long time ago people rolled the jars over a large distance by
means of bamboo canes to their present location. French archaeologists concluded
that the jars were urns to store the ashes of the deceased and that the plain
was a huge prehistoric cemetary. The largest urns were meant for the nobles and
the smaller ones for the common people. The jars are probably more than 2000
years old.
The jars are concentrated in three locations. Location one is near an airforce base. This location has 273 jars and has the largest jar known as the victory goblet of king Khun Chuang with a weight of six tons. Location two consists of two opposite hills with a total of 68 smaller jars. Location three has 88 jars concentrated in three places. According to legend the heroic southchinese king Khun Chuang liberated the people of the high plains from a cruel dictator Chao Angkha. The king celebrated this victory with a magnificent party consuming enormous amounts of ricewine from large jars. The same legend describes the people as giants.