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Researchers have discovered what they call “mysterious jars” in India, which may have been used for ancient human burial practices.
65 such ancient burials were found at a site in the northeastern Indian state of Assam.
They vary in shape and size. Some of the jars are high and cylindrical, while others were partially or completely buried in the ground.
Such stone vessels had previously been found in Laos and Indonesia.
The findings were made by researchers at three universities in India and Australia, details of which were published in the journal Journal of Asian Archeology this week. The study was led by Tilok Thakuria of North-Eastern Hill University and Indian Uttam Bathari of Gauhati University.
“We still do not know who built the jars and how they lived. “It’s still a mystery,” said Australian researcher Nicholas Skopal, part of the group.
Although it is not clear what the giant jars were used for, scholars believe it has to do with “mortuary ritual practices.”
“There are some stories in the Naga people (an ethnic group from Northeast India) that they found Assam jars filled with cremated human remains, ornaments and artifacts,” Skopal said.
Dr Thakuria told the BBC that “the jars are currently empty”, and that they had probably had covers before.
“The next step of the project is to start the excavations and document the details of the jars,” said Dr. Thakuria.
The researchers said there were about 10 such jar sites in Assam alone, adding that the objects date back to at least 400 BC.
They said they have sought and are likely to have other such facilities in Assam.
Similar jars in Laos were discovered in 2016. Researchers say they served three different types of burials: 1) bones placed in pits with large stone blocks on top, bones placed in ceramic vessels, and those with a body of only in the grave.
“The mass and structure of the mysterious jars found in Assam and Laos are very similar. There are some variations in shape and mass. “Those in Assam are thicker and those in Laos are more cylindrical,” Skopal added.
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