Madelaine Colani made an extensive study of the jars in the 1930'a and concluded that they were funerary objects but the traces of human bone and artifacts to prove this theory have since disappeared.  

She claims the large disks such as the one  in the foreground are  not lids but were placed 'decorative side down over ritual objects'.

The locals  have their own theory which involves Chao Angka a tyranical ruler and  Khun Jeuam a Lao-Thai hero who swept in from China and liberated the down trodden populace.  

To celebrate their hero needed jars in which to ferment rice wine and had these made from a mixture of buffalo skin, sand, water and sugar cane then fired in a local cave.

Research has been hampered by the presence of  so much UXO but  archeologists are preparing for a major investigation of the site once it is cleared. 

Will Madelaine Colani be vindicated, is there another answer,  or is the origin of the Jars locked forever in the past?  We shall see.

Meanwhile as visitors we are happy to keep to the marked trails.