ACCORDING TO LOCAL LEGEND, THE hundreds of gigantic stone vessels that stretch across the Xieng Khouang Plateau of Phonsavan, Laos, are simply ancient mugs, crafted by a tribe of giants to brew and store rice wine after battle. Another tale has it that they were simply hydration stations for thirsty traveling merchants. Archaeologists have a more macabre theory about the jars, that they were used to hold dead bodies before burial. New finds suggest the practice may have been more widespread than previously thought.