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dakhma
dakhma Dakhma in Yazd, Iran.

dakhma

Zoroastrianism
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Also known as: Tower of Silence
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Article History

dakhma, (Avestan: “tower of silence”), Parsi funerary tower erected on a hill for the disposal of the dead according to the Zoroastrian rite. Such towers are about 25 feet (8 m) high, built of brick or stone, and contain gratings on which the corpses are exposed. After vultures have picked the bones clean, they fall into a pit below, thereby fulfilling the injunction that a corpse must not suffer contact with either fire or earth.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.