wood heaped for burning a dead body as a funeral rite

a mound of wood upon which the deceased's body is placed on top or inside of

An open fire used to cremate bodies.

A pyre is a funeral fire for burning the dead.

A pyre is a structure, such as a mound of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite. A form of cremation, a body or bodies is placed upon the pyre and the pyre is set on fire. In a Viking funeral the pyre was built on a ship, which was then floated out to sea as it burned.