The Páramo de las Tinajas, the mysterious place flown over by death that baffles science

While throughout history some archaeological finds They brought knowledge about ancient civilizations, others, for their part, only perpetuate the mystery of their origin. In the north of Laos, the Páramo de las Tinajas intrigues both the learned and the curious.

It is estimated that in Phonsavan, 400 kilometers north of Vientiane, there are still 80 million cluster bombs from the Vietnam War (1965-1975). This appalling figure makes Laos in the most bombed country per inhabitant. In the middle of this gigantic “minefield” is the Páramo de las Tinajas, an archaeological site which, as its name suggests, contains hundreds of stone pots spread over thousands of square kilometers.

The pots were made of clay, animal skins, manure and sand. They are very tall: they reach a maximum height of three meters and some can weigh up to 12 tonnes. The oldest date from the Iron Age, the last prehistoric period, prior to the invention of writing.

These megalithic vessels are called the “Jars of the dead“. And they are, to this day, a great millennial mystery, something archeology still can’t solve.

Legendary beliefs and more earthly hypotheses

In the absence of scientific explanations, the imagination and popular culture have sketched out a few theories. Legend has it that the pots were created by Khun cheung, a former king of a group of giants who lived in the highlands. Folklore suggests that Cheung, after being victorious in a long battle, fashioned them to prepare large quantities of Lao-Lao, rice whiskey typical of Laos.

In the village of Na Xaytong, an hour’s drive from Phonsavan, the villagers attribute to the jars healing qualities. In some cases, they pour water from it on the heads of sick children.

Far from fantastic beliefs or those related to fiction, scientists offer a much simpler, but no less interesting explanation for it. Some researchers claim that the jars may have served as funeral urns, or for him food storage.

Western interest in the Páramo de las Tinajas

After the Great Depression of 1930, the French archaeologist Madeleine Colani began to study the area and sparked an interest in the Páramo de las Tinajas. Although there have been previous reports that documented the existence of such possessions as carnelian beads, jewelry, and axes, the site was almost completely looted by the time the Gallic specialist began her work on field.

Without resigning himself to what he could not find, Colani continued his work. This is how he discovered a nearby cave that housed human remains, burnt bones and ashes. This clue led her to believe that the cave was a crematorium.The jars were funeral vessels and the fields were primitive cemeteries.

Among the artifacts found, some place their origin between the years 500 to. C. and 800 d. All of his work was reflected in 1935 in the two volumes of his book Megaliths you Haut-Laos (The megaliths of Upper Laos).

The Páramo de las Tinajas being located in one of the poorest regions in the world, Belgian archaeologist Julie Van Den Bergh asked in 2005 that the archaeological site become a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Van Den Bergh’s project was very ambitious. Not only because he pursued the objective of safeguarding the place due to its archaeological importance, but he also sought to promote this isolated province of Laos, remove the pumps, make better use of the fertile land and promote tourism.

Despite Van Den Bergh’s conviction that the soil of Laos, in general, and the Páramo de las Tinajas, in particular, are rich in archaeological information, he confined himself to preparing the ground for reaching the World Heritage Status, something that finally happened in 2019.

“In archaeological terms, Laos is almost unknown land (unexplored territory) ”, explains Thongsa Sayavongkhamdy, the only certified archaeologist in his country and one of the few to have excavated in the area of ​​the jars. His work and that of Van Den Bergh are heavily based on what Colani documented over 80 years ago.

Trade route or huge tanks?

Although the plain of Xieng Khouang is the central site of the jars, this can be connected with other similar sites and form a linear path to northern India. The existence of other clusters of similar vessels in various places in Asia suggests that they were part of a large Trade route.

Some researchers argue that the ships were accustomed to store rainwater monsoon, typical climate of rainy summers and dry winters. In this way, the caravans of travelers could quench their thirst at the station without haste and then leave offerings in the jars. This would explain the files before Colani’s arrival.

Out of a total of 60, three sites of the Páramo de las Tinajas are the most visited. Before the coronavirus pandemic, tourists flocked to get out selfies or make video calls by the jars. On the other hand, in the more distant points, you could spend half a day without seeing more than the peasants and the cattle of the surroundings.

The last ones identified

In May 2019, a group of archaeologists from the Australian National University (ANU) with local officials identified new sites in the Páramo de las Tinajas. There they discovered a hundred huge stone jars between 1000 and 2000 years old.

Located in the archaeological area described, 137 containers spread over 15 different sites have expanded the mystery of the Páramo de las Tinajas. Mystery of this wooded area which extends to the present day.

“These sites were visited only occasionally by tiger hunters. We have rediscovered them and hope to reconstruct a clear picture of this culture and how they got rid of it, ”said Nicholas Skopal, the ANU doctoral student who identified the 137 pots in time.

Skopal and the team of experts claim that the jars were most likely used as cremation urns or cremation vessels. Some of them were carved out of quarries and later transported to where they are now after walking a mile away. What now we don’t know how they were transported and what were the criteria for its final disposition.

Louise Shewan and Dougald O’Reilly, respectively from the University of Melbourne and ANU, were the archaeologists who led the team that carried out the fieldwork. In a statement, the specialist pointed out that funeral practices that involved jars were more prevalent than previously thought.

“It is obvious that the jars, some of which weighed several tons, were hewn from quarries and somehow transported several kilometers away. But the choice of these places as the final location of the jars remains a mystery. We have no proof of occupation in this areaO’Reilly explained as it reflects Europa Press.

In addition to the jars, O’Reilly and his team found discs carved with animal and human figures, decorated ceramics, glass spheres, rings and spindles. Likewise, they also found miniature ceramic containers. “We would like to know why these miniature people represented the same jars in which they placed their dead and buried them together,” O’Reilly concluded.