Dakhmeh: Zoroastrian Cemetery

Rare film clip shows corpses exposed

A Tower of Silence or Dakhma (or Dakhmeh) is a circular, raised structure used by Zoroastrians for exposure of the dead... In the Iranian Zoroastrian tradition, the towers were built atop hills or low mountains in desert locations distant from population centers. In the early twentieth century, the Iranian Zoroastrians gradually discontinued their use and began to favor burial or cremation... In Yazd and Kerman, in addition to cemeteries, orthodox Zoroastrians continued to maintain a dakhma until the 1970s when the dakhmas were shut down by law >>> wikipedia

from 55eskarlet66
17-Aug-2011
Pictory | Photos
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Jahanshah Javid

At least 40 years old

by Jahanshah Javid on Wed Aug 17, 2011 08:23 PM PDT

Amir P... This video is from the 1960s or early 1970s.


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amirparvizforsecularmonarchy

This video looked like it was still in use.

by amirparvizforsecularmonarchy on Wed Aug 17, 2011 06:01 PM PDT

They were at the peaks of mountains away from peoples homes it seems.


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Truthseeker9

Vultures can remove all

by Truthseeker9 on Wed Aug 17, 2011 02:34 PM PDT

Vultures can remove all flesh from a body within an hour. People think feeding the dead to vultures is gruesome but the vultures do the same work as worms and insects do if dead bodies are buried in the ground. Still, it is better to be cremated.


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Jahanshah Javid

Tradition preserved forever

by Jahanshah Javid on Wed Aug 17, 2011 02:01 PM PDT

The historic value of this clip cannot be stressed enough. Preserving on film an unusual ancient tradition that is no longer practiced is quite incredible.

I remember going to Haft Tappeh in Khuzestan a couple of times with my family in the early 1970s, where mud columns dating back thousands of years ago had been unearthed with human remains still on top.


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