About
The Plain of Jars Archaeological Project is funded by the Australian Research Council and is a joint Australian-Lao research endeavour comprising researchers and students from Australian and International universities and colleagues from the Lao Department of Heritage.
Little archaeological excavation has been undertaken at the jar sites since the first published survey and excavation in the 1930s. Our research aims to shed light on the function and geographic extent of the jar sites, identify occupation and quarry sites associated with the megaliths, to learn more about the people who carved the stone jars and to create an enduring digital record of the sites to assist in heritage management and conservation.
The first phase of our archaeological research commenced In 2016 at the megalithic jar site, commonly known as ‘Site 1’ in Xieng Khouang Province close to the capital Phonsavan. Since then our team has conducted further research at Sites 2, 3, 52, and 12 and has identified several previously unrecorded sites.