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HomeUpcoming EventsUnearthing The Plain of Jars: New Dates, New Finds, New Questions
Unearthing the Plain of Jars: New Dates, New Finds, New Questions
Unearthing the Plain of Jars: New Dates, New Finds, New Questions

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Recent excavations at the Plain of Jars have changed our understanding of this unique megalithic landscape. Archaeological investigations have uncovered buried ceramic and stone jars, mortuary features marked with limestone slabs and boulders, and a diverse array of related material culture. These findings, along with new radiocarbon and OSL dates, now establish the main phases of activity from the late Iron Age through the early historic period.

The lecture also places these findings within larger regional contexts—highlighting new work on rock art sites in Laos and Vietnam, the creation of a ceramic conservation program to aid local curation and training, and renewed investigations at Hintang, where standing stone and slab-cist cemeteries are providing new chronological and cultural insights.

There are tantalizing connections between the stone jars and menhirs of Laos and those found in Assam, which shares a remarkably similar environment. Avenues of future research will also be presented.

Speaker bio:
Professor Dougald O’Reilly completed his undergraduate degrees in Canada and later earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in Archaeology from the University of Otago, New Zealand. Over the past thirty years, his research has focused on the development of political complexity in Bronze and Iron Age Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. Although he was raised in Canada, he has spent most of his life in New Zealand, Cambodia, and Australia, where he now resides. While in Cambodia, O’Reilly founded the non-profit organization Heritage Watch (www.heritagewatchinternational.org) in response to widespread looting of prehistoric and historic sites in the country. Heritage Watch launched a nationwide education campaign emphasizing the importance of heritage, along with various other initiatives, and continues its work today. With a dedicated staff and external supporters, Heritage Watch has become one of the few successful non-governmental organizations dedicated to heritage preservation.  Prof O’Reilly has held academic posts at the Royal University of Fine Arts (Cambodia), the University of Sydney, and Yale University and is currently a Professor in the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University, undertaking research on the Plain of Jars in Laos. 

This seminar is part of the School of Archaeology and Anthropology's 2025 Centre for Archaeological Research (CAR) Seminar series

Date & time

  • Fri 17 Oct 2025, 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Location

AD Hope Conference room 1.28 + online

Speakers

  • Dougald O'Reilly, ANU

Event Series

Centre for Archaeological Research Seminar Series

Contact

  •  Anna Florin
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