About this episode

Dougald O’Reilly discusses his team's discoveries at the Plain of Jars and the challenges of preserving the site.

Canadian archeologist Dougald O’Reilly and his team were widely credited with solving the mysteries surround the Plain of Jars in northeast Laos, a vast megalithic landscape of massive stone jars scattered in clusters, dating to the Iron Age, around 500 BCE to 500 CE. O’Reilly, a professor at the Australian National University in Canberra, has also released his latest book "Empires of the Southern Ocean," which traces state-level societies across Southeast Asia, encompassing modern-day Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. He spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about his discoveries at the Plain of Jars, which have besotted and mystified archeologists, explorers, and tourists for centuries and the issues confronted by his team in preserving the site.

People in this episode

Host: Luke Hunt

Guest: Dougald O’Reilly

Topics covered

• archeology
• Southeast Asia
• Plain of Jars
• Iron Age
• cultural heritage

Keywords

• archeology
• Plain of Jars
• Dougald O’Reilly
• Southeast Asia
• Iron Age
• cultural heritage
• Empires of the Southern Ocean

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Australian National University

Books & works: Empires of the Southern Ocean

Places: Plain of Jars, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam

More episodes of Beyond the Mekong

• Reevaluating ASEAN’s Economic Outlook Amid the Iran Conflict · April 21, 2026 · 26 min
• The Iran War, ASEAN and Global Supply Chains · April 9, 2026 · 25 min
• Myanmar, War, and Federalism: A Conversation With Joe Lo Bianco · March 24, 2026 · 23 min
• The Iran War: Its Impact on ASEAN and Myanmar · March 17, 2026 · 28 min
• Southeast Asia: The Economic Outlook for 2026 · February 3, 2026 · 26 min
• Is Reconciling Cambodia and Thailand Possible? · October 13, 2025 · 36 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Beyond the Mekong podcast page.