| Abstract: |
Xieng Khouang province is home to the Plain of Jars, a series of archaeological sites containing from one single jar to several hundred urns carved mainly fro sandstone, granite or limestone. The jars were part of the ancient inhabitants' funerary customs, whose occupation of the area spanned "from the fifth century BCE to the beginning of the Christian era". The French archaeologist Madeleine Colani (1866-1943) remains the only scholar to have enjoyed unfettered access to the Plain of Jars and to have published a systematic documentation of some of the sites. At the same time as international efforts and tourism rise, new and very different local challenges are emerging, as communities and ethnic minorities employ the jars in a variety of ways, infusing new meaning into the notions of value and heritage and hampering conservation efforts. This paper will explore the competing notions of heritage and the implications for conservation. Through personal accounts, it will become apparent that the lives of the people at the Plain of Jars have been, and are, closely associate with the jars, which have often acted as custodians for their most treasured possessions. This paper will advocate that the important work of documentation should be extended to the newly-discovered sites and that exploring diversity at the Plain of Jars is crucial towards an understanding of its complexity as an under-researched area of significant archaeological interest. Town and village names have changed since Colani's times. For the sake of clarity, in this essay, jar sites will be identified by their numerical appellation rather than by the village name, which can give rise to confusion.
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