
It is said both inthe native and foreign sourcesthat the original Avesta “written on 12,000 prepared cow-skins, and with gold ink,” was burnt together with other treasures and books when Alexander of Macedonia set Parsgarde (Persepolis) on fire. (1) In other sources, it is said that there were actually two copies, one kept in Shapigan treasury and the other in the “citadel of writings” dejnebeshteh (2) whose exact location had never been found, thus a mystery.