پژوهشنامه ایران باستان (Ancient Iranian Studies)

Throughout the history, one of the concerns of human beings has been death. The death and the rituals associated with it have created enduring traditions in human societies, with each having its own unique rite based on prevailing cultural and historical characteristics. One of the important traditions related to death is burial practices with varying rituals. Different faiths and religions recommend different commands and traditions for the disposal of a deceased body, with one being burial in the ground. Burial methods, too, differ in different religions, and throughout history, various methods of burial have been performed based on the prevalent rituals and religions of the time. In Zoroastrian, due to the reverence of the four elements (water, earth, fire, and air), any direct contact with a human corpse, which is considered impure, is forbidden. Followers of the Zoroastrian faith have adopted various methods for burying their deceased, including placing them in astōdān (ossuary), towers of silence, and constructing large stone graves (dakhmas/ cairn burials). This paper introduces the cairn burials (khereft-khaneh) and an astōdān (sotōdān) that were found during the archaeological survey of Harat district of Yazd province in 2021. In the archaeological survey of Harat, various cultural and historical sites from different periods were identified. Most of the identified sites in this survey belonged to the Islamic era, but some are referred to historical period, such as cairn burials and an astōdān (ossuary), which will be discussed in this study. Based on comparative studies and similar burial methods found in central Iran, Fars, and Kerman, these sites are dated back to the historical period (Parthian/Sasanian).