Ancient altar and chest in Uzbekistan offer clues to Zoroastrian ancestors’ rites
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Archaeologists in Uzbekistan’s Kashkadarya province uncovered a fire altar and a bone urn dating back to 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD, revealing details about the funerary practices of people who lived in the region before the rise of Zoroastrianism.
The team, led by Sanjar Abdurakhimov of the Samarkand Archaeological Institute, excavated the site at Odirmon, which was once part of Sogdiana, a territory that later fell under Greco-Bactrian and Kushan rule.
They found a repeatedly repaired altar showing traces of fire and an ossuary, a container for bones, decorated with images of a deer and a Turkestan juniper, a locally significant conifer. The discovery suggests the people of Odirmon practiced a ritual of exposing bodies until only bones remained, then storing those bones, a custom later associated with Zoroastrian Towers of Silence. This practice avoided both burial and cremation, reflecting a reverence for earth and fire.
While similar ossuaries have been found in Uzbekistan dating to the 5th to 8th centuries AD, the Odirmon site potentially pushes the origins of this funerary custom back several centuries. Researchers are still working to confirm the dating and understand the meaning of the imagery on the ossuary. Further excavation may reveal whether Odirmon was a standalone sanctuary, part of a larger settlement, or a stop along trade routes.
The Cultural Heritage Agency of Uzbekistan anticipates that continued work will clarify the site’s historical and cultural importance.
