Why are hundreds of huge stone jars scattered across north-east Laos?

ASK LAO elders, and many will tell you that their lands were once ruled by giants. The greatest was a warrior king named Khun Jeuang whose armies, the story goes, celebrated their conquests in modern-day Xieng Khouang province in north-east Laos, with whisky served from enormous stone urns. Today more than 2,000 of these vessels, standing up to three metres high and weighing as much as 30 tonnes, can be found scattered across the prosaically named Plain of Jars. Generations of Lao grandchildren have heard the tale. But the details can be fuzzy. Asked when the events took place, Champa, a 60ish local, estimates it was “looong ago”.