Located halfway between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the kingdom of Lan Na, the Kalong kilns produced elegant wares with freely painted underglaze black decoration. Such wares were used for serving food, either for daily eating, or for offerings on ceremonial occasions. Ceramics held the ashes of the dead in burials and other dishes were buried alongside to accompany the deceased. Until wares such as this were discovered in the 1980s in the mountainous region along the border of Thailand and Burma, and began to appear on the market, the extent and sophistication of production of northern Thai kilns was not well known.