HOST (IN LAOS):
Greetings, loving viewers, and welcome to The World Around Us.
Today we travel to the beautiful Southeast Asian land of Laos,
where we will explore the fascinating archaeological landscape called the Plain of Jars.
One of the most ancient archaeological wonders of Southeast Asia, the Plain of Jars is located on the Xiangkhouang Plateau in Xiangkhouang Province. The plateau rises more than ３,０００ meters above sea level. Made of limestone, it was formed out of the harder rocks around it by ages of rain. Legend has it that giants once inhabited the plateau.
In fact, little is known about the prehistoric residents of the Xiangkhouang Plateau. But they leave a visible mark for us to appreciate many millennia later, in the form of thousands of large stone jars which we have come to know as the Plain of Jars.
Mr. Boon Kham Sokhamphouvanh is a guard at the Plain of Jars. As an expert of its history and folklore, he greets visitors to the site.

Mr. Boon Kham Sokhamphouvanh (m):
In the years １９９９ and ２０００,  the organization UNESCO and Lao archeologists
came to research the archaeology of the jars and our region Xiangkhouang as part of a UNESCO project. It is believed that before ５００ BC, Xiangkhouang Province was part of the kingdom of King Khun Cheung. At that time, Khun Cheung had camps set up.
Altogether, there were ８５ camps, and these ８５ camps became the province of Xiangkhouang. They all have stone jars. We already registered ５８ camps. Then, Site １, we have
the area altogether and there are ２５ hectares. This area has ３３４ jars,
and the one which has the tallest jars is in this area. It’s measured at ２.５７ meters. They had a population of more than ２７０,０００ people.