The 7 Wonders of the Ancient World: The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

Location

In the city of Bodrum (Halicarnassus) in

the Aegean Sea, in South Western Turkey.

The Mausoleum was completed in 350 BC, three years after the death of Mausolus, and a

year after that of Artemis.

Six centuries after these events, Philo of Byzantium includes the

Mausoleum as one of the seven wonders of the world in such a grand account of the

work of architects Satyrs and Pitea.

Description

* The structure was rectangular in plan, with base dimensions of 40 by 30 meters.

* The sides were decorated with statues.

* The burial chamber and sarcophagus of white

alabaster decorated with gold were located on the

podium and surrounded by Ionic columns

* pyramid-shaped roof with statues

* A statue of a chariot drawn by four horses adorned the top the

grave.

* The total height of the Mausoleum was 45 m

* 20 m stepped to the podium, 12 m to the colonnade, 7 m for the pyramid and 6 m for the statue of

the car at the top.

Only 16 years after its construction, Alejandro Magno, ordered to destroy the "temple of Artemis." Conquered the city and destroy the mausoleum

In the year 1522 almost all blocks of the Mausoleum had been used for

the construction of San Pedro Castle in Bodrum

Documents