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Hello,In the novel by Manfredi, about ATG, he discusses the Persian tradition of placing the dead on top of "Towers of Silence"- massive columns designed for the dead to be placed on.He states the Persian belief that the earth was sacred- so burials never took place, as was fire, so funeral pyres neither could take place.I read Olmstead's work on the Persian empire but cannot remember reading any information which would confirm or negate the way the Persians dealt with their dead.Has anyone else read about such "Towers of Silence".Best regards,
Dean.

This is under discussion.Towers of Silence are known from several towns, like Yazd (see http://www.livius.org/a/iran/yazd/yazd.html ). No one knows how old they are, because they have been repaired very often and no archaeologist has ever destroyed one of these sanctuaries to inspect its inner core. They are mentioned for the first time in Sassanid times, but this does not prove that they can not be older.In fact, at least two ancient authors (Herodotus and Onesicritus) state that the Iranians exposed the bodies of the dead. On the other hand, we know that the Achaemenid kings were interred (e.g., at Naqsh-i Rustam, http://www.livius.org/a/iran/naqshirust ... menid.html ).Personally, I think that the practice was not universal. After all, why should a nation have one type of funeral practice? Un our own age, bodies can be buried and burnt.Jona

Greetings,And it might well be possible that funeral practices varied according to class, locale and available materials. Regards,
Sikander

Exactly, although I think that cremation is difficult in a country like Iran, where wood may have been scarce. Which may explain why I know only of inhumation and exposure.On second thoughts, I wonder if there was any tree standing in Babylonia after Alexander had erected the funeral pyre of Hephaestion.Jona

Hello,Were not fire and earth thought to be gods by the Persians?It is interesting to surmise that Alexander was neither buried nor cremated. Maybe he preferred the Persian idea of "towers of silence". Well Ptolemy had other ideas I suppose...Best regards,
Dean.

Greetings Jona,Yes, it can be difficult to guess about such processes, since so many centuries have passed. Was England not once more heavily wooded, with many more large carnivores? And of course, there are always those cedars of Lebanon. And the once thriving plains of North America. It does not take long for humans to change things a great deal and impact entire environments.Regards,
Sikander

From the research I've done into the ancient religions of Persia, they believed that they must not pollute the fire by burning bodies or pollute the earth by burying them. So the bodies were left exposed for the birds to pick clean and thus release their spirits into the universe. There are still "towers of silence"...one being in Bombay (read Rohinton Mistry: Such a Long Journey)
and, according to my Parsai friend who is from there. ruthaki

Greetings Ruth,Thanks for the information. I understand the burial practice mentioned, but I still feel there is room for alternatives. I find it difficult to support absolutes fully when discussing the lives of people over centuries ago since, then as now, I am certain there were myriad religions and beliefs over large regions and populations; taking class, population density, available materials, etc leaves room for several possibilities. Regards,
Sikander

If a dead body couldn't pollute fire or the earth, how did they reconcile the use of fire for industrial purposes? They cooked, made pots, worked metals etc. Likewise the belief about the earth, what did they do with human and animal waste. For that matter, what did they do with dead animals?