TOWERS OF SILENCE (DAKMEH-YE ZARTOSHTIYUN)
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At the exit of the city, at the gates of the desert, two circular buildings stand at the top of a mound. Below, the parsehgah («where a spirit is lost») acted as a prayer place to head the soul of the death in heaven after the crossing of the bridge Tchinavat. The dakhmeh or towers of silence, on the other hand, greeted the remains of the deceased on large open circular platforms. Delivered to birds of prey, so as not to defiled the earth judged sacred by the Zoroastrians, like the other natural elements (fire, water and wind), the corpses were rapidly disappearing. Cremation was prohibited for the same reasons. At the time, only the mages had access to the towers, wearing the remains at the top where it was exposed on stone slabs. After the passage of vultures, the bones were placed in a large circular pit in the centre of the platform. This custom lasted until the th century before being banned by the authorities. Today, the Zoroastrians buried their dead in tombs lined with cement so as not to defiled the earth.
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