The Plain of Jars – a megalithic archaeological site in the Laos province of Xiengkhuang – and Bagan city in Myanmar have both received positive evaluations from the International Council on Monuments and Sites for inscription, Unesco said. During its 43rd session, committee members comprising 21 states party to the Unesco 1972 Convention on the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage Sites will examine reports on the state of conservation of the nominated properties before deciding on whether they should be included in the World Heritage List. The property has been proposed for World Heritage inscription because it is an exceptional testimony to an Iron Age civilisation. Myanmar’s Bagan city, meanwhile, is a sacred landscape featuring an exceptional array of Buddhist art and architecture, demonstrating centuries of the tradition of Theravada Buddhist practice of merit-making. Though Laos already has two World Heritage Sites – the ancient city of Luang Prabang inscribed in 1995 and the Hindu temple of Vat Phou in southern Champasak province in 2001 – Myanmar has so far not had any inscribed sites.

Source: The Nation Bangkok July 01, 2019 10:52 UTC