The Lao government remains optimistic that UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee will grant the Plain of Jars full listing status when it meets in July.
The Plain of Jars
“All the necessary documents were submitted last year,” said Director General of the Heritage Department, Thongbay Phothisan.
“At the end of last year the World Heritage team came to Laos to assess the site, and we went to Paris to confirm our intention to apply and to maintain the Plain of Jars as a World Heritage Site”, he said. “All the necessary documents were submitted last year.”
If the application is successful, the Plain of Jars will be Laos’ third World Heritage Site after Luang Prabang (1995) and the Vat Phou temple complex (2001) in Champassak province.
The Plain of Jars covers more than 200 hectares across 11 sites in Xieng Khouang Province, and includes hundreds of stone jars cut from rock. Archaeologists date the jars back to 500 BC, and their investigation into materials found at the sites continues. They have yet to agree on the jars purpose.
The government is currently preparing documents for submission to UNESCO requesting that Hin Nam No in Khammouane Province be Laos’ first Natural Heritage Site.
Source: Vientiane Times
