<P> A Dakhma (Persian: دخمه; Avestan: lit . "tower of silence"), also called a Tower of Silence, is a circular, raised structure built by Zoroastrians for excarnation--that is, for dead bodies to be exposed to carrion birds . </P> <P> Zoroastrian exposure of the dead is first attested in the mid-5th century BCE Histories of Herodotus, but the use of towers is first documented in the early 9th century . The doctrinal rationale for exposure is to avoid contact with earth or fire, both of which are considered sacred . </P>

Tower of silence is associated with which religion