Ancient Kilns Yield 500 Year-Old Pottery

A Lao-Australian initiative is helping fill in a blind spot on the archaeological map of Southeast Asia. Two excavations in Vientiane have found ceramic pieces up to 500 years old that will add to the history of Laos.

The uncovering of five ancient kilns in the Sisattanak area of Vientiane and the recovery of many potsherds is helping to define an historic ceramic industry associated with an early period of the city.

1991 was the third field season of the Vientiane Archaeological Project, a joint research venture between the Lao Department of Museums and Archaeology and the University of Sydney. The Director-General of the Lao Department of Museums and Archaeology, Mr Thongsa Sayavongkhamdy, and the deputy directors, Mr Bounheng Buasisengpaseuth and Mr Bounhom Chanthamat. coordinated the project. Mr Viengkeo Souksavatdy was the Lao team-leader.

The Australian side of the project was jointly managed by Dr Mike Barbetti, director of the N.W.G. Macintosh Centre for Quarternary Dating, and Mr Don Hem, the site director. Other Australian participants included research scholar Mr Peter Grave and research assistant Mrs Toni Hem.

The project aimed to investigate the nature and extent of historic ceramic production in Laos, namely its origins, technology, and development.

Until recently, little was known about the ceramic wares and industry of Laos, in contrast to those of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam which are well known. Now, controlled excavations have begun to produce evidence of a substantial local industry. Early tests done at the University of Sydney indicate that the kilns are four to five hundred years old.

Reported finds of kilns in other areas led the 1991 digging season to extend itself to an excavation at Ban Sang Hai, twenty kilometres north of Luang Prabang. Ceramic production at that site may well predate that of Sisattanak. The training and experience gained during the overall project will rove beneficial to Laos as it continues to commit resources to develop awareness of its archaeological and historical heritage.

The project involves survey, excavation and recording of features and artifacts in the ground. The project also uses a computer-based classification system to catalogue the ceramics, and a variety of dating techniques.

Previous research provides a context to locate the results of the project within a wider historical and geographical context. This is enabling researchers to define the chronology of the ceramic industry of Laos and piece together its history.