Archaeologists puzzled after discovering 37 people buried in one big 'death jar'

Archeologists have been finding interesting things about our history for so long you might think it has become hard to shock them – but after finding a burial ground containing bodies in some sort of jarred structure, it's safe to say they were left scratching their heads.

Northern Laos's Xieng Khouang Plateau is probably one of the most confusing places to find historical sites.

But the Plain of Jars takes things to the next level.

The site is dated more than a thousand years ago and was initially something that was a bit of a mystery to those who were looking into their purpose.

However, after nearly 100 years of thinking, they've now figured out exactly what they were created to do.

A hint archaeologist was privy to was that some of the jars had been found containing ashes and burnt bones.

Archaeologists found a strange jar structure in Laos (University of Cambridge)

But this heavy four-foot high, seven-foot wide, megalithic stone jar contained none of that, and this time was home to the remains of 37 people who are thought to have lived over 1000 years ago.

“We were very excited because it was the first time we found non-burnt bones inside a jar,” Nicholas Skopal, an archaeologist and lead author of the study, per the National Geographic.

Dubbed 'Jar 1', dating techniques theorize it was in use between A.D. 890 and 1160, suggesting ancient people used it over several generations.

Skopal went on to reveal that the jar may have been a burial space, where large bones and skulls were set near the outer edges, in some sort of ancient funerary process.

Taking them between 2022 and 2024 to fully excavate it, the researchers ended up discovering tools like an iron knife, a copper bell, stone slabs, glass beads and shards of earthenware.

According to Skopal, the beads 'could have been some sort of offering for the deceased, like a necklace or something like that.'

Beads were also found in the jar, leading researchers to believe it was part of an offering (University of Cambridge)

However, Kelly Brandão, an archaeologist with the University of São Paulo and Mamirauá Institute at Tefé says there's no way to tell for certain right now that this was the only use.

"We can't know for sure if the vase was really made with the burial objective in sight," she said. "This finding alone would be astonishing, but it would be equally astonishing to find out they were made for other uses. The team certainly has a lot of work ahead to answer this question."

As for Skopal, he believes the jars were used in a process.

First, individual jars were used for each body, so they could decompose.

Once the skin came off, he thinks the bones were then collected and placed 'as secondary bundles into the larger jar' which could have been used as an ossuary – a final resting place.

But with more teeth of people than their skulls, it's still a working theory.

“That's a really interesting factor,” Skopal said, adding that it 'shows how complex this mortuary ritual is.'

“We have no idea of who these people were and where they lived,” Skopal went on to say. “The problem is getting DNA [at the Plain of Jars] is really hard due to the tropical climate—but fingers crossed!"