Site 3 is the third of the Plain of Jars locations near Phonsavan, in Xieng Khouang province in northern Laos, and it is probably the most attractive to visit. The jars, giant stone vessels carved from sandstone, lie scattered across low grassy hills, and at Site 3 there are over a hundred of them spread across several groups. Group 5 sits on a gentle hillside among rice paddies and is a small cluster, reached by a short walk through farmland. The jars are not uniform, some tall and wide with lips, others broken or toppled, and many tilt as if the ground has been shifting under them for centuries.
Nobody is entirely sure what they were for. The French archaeologist Madeleine Colani worked here in the 1930s and concluded that they were part of a funeral tradition, probably used to hold bodies during decomposition before the bones were buried, and later work has backed her idea. They date to the Iron Age, roughly from 500 BC to 500 AD. Local legend says a giant king brewed rice wine in them after a great victory, and the story is told with a smile.
The landscape has its darker part. Laos was bombed heavily during the Vietnam War by the United States, and the province of Xieng Khouang suffered more than most. Unexploded ordnance remains in the soil. At the jar sites, the safe paths have been cleared and are marked with white and red stones, so stay on the white side and do not wander. The clearing work by MAG and HALO is ongoing and visible, and it is an important part of why this heritage is open to visit.
Phonsavan is about seventeen kilometres away. It is a plain, modern town on a plateau at about a thousand metres, cool in the evenings, with fuel stations, noodle shops and a few places to stay. The road from the town runs through rolling pine and grass hills, with a road surface that is mostly good. Mornings are often misty, especially from December to February, and the light is lovely over the jars. Come early, bring water, and take your time.