Architecture and construction technique of the Zoroastrian Dakhma of Turkabad in Ardakan, Yazd

Near the city of Ardakan, inside the gardens of the village of Turkabad and Dilom, there is a ruined Zoroastrian crypt. This crypt is like a cylinder and has a long round wall. Its spatial arrangement is such that a circular courtyard is located in the center of the building and rooms are built around it. These rooms were mass graves to hold the bones of the dead. The circular plan and cylindrical volume of the building can be identified now. But too much erosion has turned it into a ruin. After archeological excavations, the spaces of the western part are clearer. This monument is important from the point of view that it belongs to the middle century AH and is older than other crypts in Yazd. The target of this research is to identify the crypt monument by understanding the architecture and studying the details of the building. The question is, what are the executive details and construction engineering of the building and what effect did it have on the architectural design, function and durability of the building? The research method is descriptive-analytical. A library study was performed and other data were provided by studying the building and the site. Detailed plans were drawn with observation and accuracy in the building, which includes: the layout of the building, the shape of the walls and its types, construction of structural elements, execution of the arch, lightening of the roof, flooring and other items. The special engineering used in this building, which was planned by placing a layer of sand under the building, was to create base insulation. This building was built to preserve the bodies and remains of the dead, but it is like a building for living people. The architect designed the building with an old architectural and engineering design. The construction technology of the building is under the culture of earthen architecture of Yazd region, but it can show the diversity of this type of architecture. Historical reports probably prove the history of this crypt before the eighth century AH.