Towers of Silence

Tower of Silence is a circular, raised structure used by Zoroastrians for exposure of the dead. There is no standard technical name for such a construction. The common dakhma or dokhma originally denoted any place for the dead. Zoroastrian tradition considers a dead body to be unclean, i.e. potential pollutant. To preclude the pollution of earth or fire the bodies of the dead are placed atop a tower and so exposed to the sun and birds of prey.

 

 

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