Seven Wonders Part V the Mausoleum of Mausolus at Halicarnassus

The city of Halicarnassus (present day Bodrum, Turkey) was the capitol of Caria, a small kingdom along the Mediterranean coast of Asia Minor. From 377 B.C. to 350 B.C. it was ruled by Mausolus and his queen Artemisia (who was also his sister).

When Mausolus died in 353 B.C., his body was entombed in what became known as the Maussolleion or Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. It is from the name Mausolus itself that the term mausoleum was created and associated with all tombs.

The tomb, planned by the ruler for himself was designed by the Greek architects Satyros and Pythius of Priene. After the death of Mausolus, Artemisia had work on the tomb continue. She, too, died before it was completed and was interred there as well.

The Mausoleum was made up of three parts: a square base on the bottom, 36 columns (9 on each side) in the middle, and topped by a stepped pyramid that had 24 steps. All of this was covered in ornate carvings and embellished with life-size and larger-than-life statues. At the very top was a 25-foot-high marble sculpture consisted of standing statues of both Mausolus and Artemisia riding in a chariot pulled by four horses.

Much of the Mausoleum was made out of marble and the entire structure reached 140 feet high. It was built on a hill that overlooked the city and sat on a stone platform in the center of a courtyard. Although large, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was known more for its ornate sculptures and carvings, most of which were painted in vibrant colors.

Five famous sculptors worked on the ornamentation of the tomb. Each sculptor had a section that they were responsible for – Bryaxis (north side), Scopas (east side), Timotheus (south side), and Leochares (west side). The chariot on top was created by Pythias. A staircase, flanked by stone lions, led to the top of the platform and statues of gods and goddesses adorned the outer wall.

Even when the city fell to Alexander the Great in 334 B.C. the Mausoleum remained undisturbed. In fact, it endured for almost 1,800 years before being destroyed by a series of earthquakes. By 1404 A.D. only the base of the Mausoleum survived.

After that much of the marble was recycled by the Crusaders, who occupied the city by then. It was used to build other buildings and reinforce the walls of the fortress they were using. In 1522 the crypt itself was raided and over time the Mausoleum was forgotten and houses were built on the site.

In the 1950s, Charles Newton, a British archaeologist, was the first to recognize that some of the decorations at Bodrum Castle (the former Crusader fortress) could have come from the Mausoleum. After extensive research and excavating, he found the site of the Mausoleum. This led to the recovery of many sections of the reliefs that had once decorated the walls and several statues, which can now be found in the British Museum in London.

The ruins are still visible today, as a protected site, in the center of the city of Bodrum. There is not much to be seen, however, as little is left but an earth pit with a few stones and column drums. A sad fate for what was once a wonder of the world.