Researchers have uncovered giant “mysterious” megalithic jars in Assam that may have been used for ancient human burial practices. The 65 sandstone jars, which vary in shape and size, were found scattered over four sites.
- Some of the jars are tall and cylindrical, while the others are partly or fully buried in the ground. Similar stone vessels have previously been found in Laos and Indonesia.
- The details of the discovery – which involved researchers from three universities in India and Australia – were published in the Journal of Asian Archaeology journal.
- The four new sites were the village of Herakilo, a ridgeline at Thaimodholing, a spur at Thaimodholing and Lower Chaikam. Although it is still not clear what the giant jars were used for, the researchers believe they were “likely associated with mortuary practices”.
- Megalithic jar sites in Assam were first formally described in 1929 by British civil servants Philip Mills and John Henry Hutton, who reported six sites.
- The seventh site wasn’t discovered until a 2016-2017 expedition, part of work to relocate and catalog the sites described by Mills and Hutton.
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