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Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
World

Plain of Jars mystery solved

Nicholas Skopal, an archaeologist at James Cook University in Australia, inspects a stone jar on the Plain of Jars in Laos. (Photo: Daniel Baker via The New York Times)

For nearly a century, thousands of massive stone urns scattered across north-central Laos have stood as one of archaeology’s most baffling enigmas. Local folklore said ancient giants had carved the hollowed-out megaliths to brew celebratory rice wine.

But scientists have long suspected a far more solemn purpose: interment of the dead. Now, a study published in the journal Antiquity offers compelling evidence to prove the scientists right.

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