Zoroastrian Towers of Silence, or dakhmas, are roofless circular funerary structures usually built on isolated hills. Because earth, fire and water are sacred, the dead were traditionally neither buried nor cremated. Instead, corpse-bearers arranged the bodies in three concentric rings—men, women and children—beneath the open sky. Vultures removed the flesh, the sun bleached the bones, and the remains were placed in a central well fitted with lime and underground filters. Among Parsis, the body’s final usefulness could be understood as an act of charity to other creatures.
Tower of Silence
