Date: Mon, 14 Jul 1997 21:47:25 +1000
From: Noel
To: jim S. artesia@usa.net
Subject: JARS
Further to ancient stone mysteries.
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I have just found out about this but it is absolutely factual and not from an unreliable source.
VIENTIANE, LAOS is south of PHON SAVANH, and from there you must venture into wilderness to the "Plain of
Jars" The land is covered by craters because of war shelling, but there are also about 20 sites scattered
over 600 square miles where the JARS lay around. The largest site has 250 jars. These jars are at least 2000 years
old they say.
These jars are BIG, the biggest is 10 feet high. They are about 6 - 10 inches thick, some made of sandstone, some
made of quartz. But these materials are not available in the area. At the largest site only one lid has been found,
causing some to say it is an offering table rather than a lid.
It is not known how they were made, because they are irregular shapes and very difficult to "roll." Nor
is it known how they got there, or who made them or why there seem to be no traces of the dwellings etc of the
makers.
However one theory is that they were funeral jars, because there is a sort of hill rising from the flat ground
with two holes entering a cave, and this may have been a crematorium. The jars may have been for the ashes.
Apart from the similar mysterious aspects these jars don't much resemble the grand works of places like Egypt.
However having seen the jars, I feel that the same dating mistake has been made. Why is everything at least or
about 2000 years old? Because deep in our minds we think of the modern calendar starting. It's true. We limit the
age of things for the wrong reasons. So I think they could be very very old like many of the collossal monuments
on earth.
Thanks for reading until next time.
Noel