Within the area of modern-day Turkey, the remains of two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World have been preserved: the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. Unfortunately, while visiting these places, you cannot count on such magnificent views as tourists enjoy when viewing the Pyramid of Cheops. In place of the Temple of Artemis now stands a solitary column, and where once stood the magnificent Mausoleum, there are modest ruins that do not stand out in any way. Despite this, it is worth spending a moment during your stay in Bodrum to visit this place, to reflect on the perversity of history and the transience of even the greatest achievements of humanity. Immediately after that, you should quickly move to St. Peter's Castle, to find the traces of this tomb of the Carian ruler named Mausolus reused in this mighty fortress.
Historical overview:
The history of the Mausoleum construction
In the 4th century BCE, in the southwestern part of Anatolia, there was a small kingdom of Caria, nominally dependent on Persia. Its ruler, Mausolus, moved the capital of the state from Mylasa (now Milas) to Halicarnassus (now Bodrum), from where he ruled his kingdom, formally as a Persian satrap, but in practice as the autocratic ruler of Caria. Mausolus's wife was his sister, named Artemisia.
Mausolus and Artemisia spent huge sums of money on the expansion of the new capital. During their rule, Halicarnassus saw the construction of defensive walls, a theatre, temples, and other public buildings. In 353 BCE, Mausolus died, leaving the state under Artemisia's rule. His widow decided to honour his memory by building a magnificent tomb.
To create this enormous structure, Artemisia brought the most talented Greek artists of the period to Halicarnassus. The building itself was designed by two distinguished architects: Satyros of Paros and Pytheos of Priene. The four walls of the Mausoleum were decorated with reliefs created by four famous Greek sculptors. Among them was Scopas, who supervised the reconstruction of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. The other sculptors were Leochares, Bryaxis, and Timotheos.
Artemisia outlived Mausolus by only two years, and after her death the urns with the ashes of both spouses were placed in a still unfinished tomb. After the funeral ceremonies were over and a huge number of animals were sacrificed, the steps leading to the Mausoleum were covered with stones and rubble, thus closing off access to the interior.
The probable design of the Mausoleum
The exact design of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus is not known to us. Its approximate reconstruction is possible based on the texts of ancient authors. The Roman architect and engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, who lived in the 1st century BCE, claimed that one of the builders of the Mausoleum - Pytheos of Priene - wrote an entire treatise on the subject, which unfortunately has not survived to this day. It is assumed that the construction of such a huge structure would not have been possible in just two years, so its construction may have begun during Mausolus' lifetime, or it was completed by subsequent rulers after the death of Queen Artemisia.
The most detailed description of the Mausoleum available today is by Pliny the Elder and dates back to the 1st century CE. According to Pliny, the Mausoleum consisted of a high rectangular base, on which there was an inner courtyard surrounded by a colonnade (i.e. peristyle). The colonnade was formed by 36 columns, which supported a 24-step pyramid. At the top of the pyramid there was a sculpture depicting a four-horse chariot (quadriga), driven by Mausolus and his wife Artemisia. The total height of the structure was supposed to be about 42 meters.
According to Turkish archaeologist Ekrem Akurgal, the information given by Pliny the Elder is confirmed by the preserved tomb called Gümüşkesen, located in the city of Milas. Gümüşkesen is believed to be a smaller copy of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. Due to the more moderate size of this tomb, it was not possible to place a quadriga on its top.
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was decorated with beautiful sculptures and bas-reliefs, many of which were destroyed. Others survived only in fragments. The best preserved reliefs and sculptures from the mausoleum, recovered by British archaeologists, were taken out of Turkish territory by them.
Later history of the building
The mausoleum towered over Halicarnassus for many centuries. It was not damaged during the battles fought by Alexander the Great in 334 BCE, and survived pirate attacks in 62 and 58 BCE. Some time between the antiquity and the arrival of the Knights of Rhodes to Halicarnassus in early 15th century, the great Mausoleum, once a wonder of the ancient world fell into obscurity. It is certain that it was a tourist attraction in the later part of the 2nd century CE, as attested by Lucian in his Dialogues of the Dead. Lucian wrote a fictional dialogue between Diogenes and Mausolus, where the latter states proudly: "Finally, a vast tomb lies over me in Halicarnassus, of such dimensions, of such exquisite beauty as no other shade can boast. Thereon are the perfect semblances of man and horse, carved in the fairest marble; scarcely may a temple be found to match it. These are the grounds of my pride: are they inadequate?"
According to historians, it was still in good condition in the 11th century CE because Eustathius of Thessalonica, a Byzantine theologian and philologist active at that time, stated in his Commentary on Homer's Iliad that "It was and is a miracle". Moreover, the accounts from the travellers to Caria use the present tense to describe the Mausoleum until the 12th century. Thus, despite the theory of Charles Newton who excavated the Mausoleum in the 19th century, it is very possible that there was no catastrophic earthquake causing the building's sudden destruction. Moreover, the Mausoleum's solid construction would have prevented its rapid collapse. Therefore, it is very possible that the Mausoleum had just fallen gradually into decay, possibly with the aid of a small earthquake or two, and was also hidden by lush vegetation.
The rediscovery of the Mausoleum's existence happened just before the Hospitaller Knights arrived in Halicarnassus. In 1497, there is a mention of the Mausoleum made by a pilgrim to the Holy Land who visited the region of Halicarnassus. This man, called Bonsignore Bonsignori, recorded in his memoirs, Viaggio in Gierusalemne, that one could see a great ruin of the burial place of Mausolus, built by Queen Artemisia.
Then, in 1402 the Knights Hospitaller arrived, and used the remains of the Mausoleum as a quarry to build the Castle of Saint Peter. Although the construction of this castle started around 1406, the stones from the Mausoleum were only used much later, around 1494. It is possible that the use of the construction materials from the ancient structure was prompted by the earthquake recorded for the nearby island of Kos in October 1493 that may have been fell in Halicarnassus and damaged or revealed the Mausoleum.
However, when the members of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John (also known as the Hospitallers or, later, the Knights of Malta) arrived at Halicarnassus in 1402, they noted in their chronicles that the Mausoleum was already in ruins. This was most likely caused by a series of earthquakes that collapsed the building's colonnade and knocked the quadriga from its top.
There is a story associated with the discovery of the Mausoleum by the Hospitallers, recorded by Claude Guichard in the 16th century, stating that the knights found among the ruins an entrance to an underground chamber containing a large coffin. Due to the late hour of the day, they decided to stop exploring the chamber, and when they returned the next morning, the burial chamber had been ransacked and the bodies of the Carian rulers buried there had disappeared. However, archaeological research conducted in the 1960s did not confirm the truth of this story. It has been shown that the tomb was plundered long before the arrival of the Hospitallers, and the thieves reached it through a dug tunnel. The absence of the bodies of Mausolus and Artemisia is explained by the fact that they were most likely cremated and placed in urns.
The Hospitallers chose Halicarnassus as the site for the construction of one of the fortresses guarding this stretch of the Aegean coast. The materials needed to build St. Peter's Castle, and then for renovations and expansion of the fortress, were obtained from the ruined Mausoleum. The most beautiful reliefs from the tomb were built entirely into the walls of the castle, where they remained until the mid-19th century. Many of the marble fragments of the Mausoleum met a much worse end - they were ground and burned to obtain the lime needed to build St. Peter's Castle.
Historical Significance
The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was included among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The reason why ancient authors listed this structure among the most important architectural achievements of mankind was not because of the size of the Mausoleum, but because of its beauty and magnificent ornamentation. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was the second longest surviving of the Seven Wonders of the World, after the still standing Pyramid of Cheops, as it had remained intact at Halicarnassus for at least 1,500 years.
The sight of the Mausoleum made such a great impression on the Romans that they began to call the magnificent tombs they built mausoleums. Thus, the proper name Mausoleion, meaning a building dedicated to Mausolus, became the name for all monumental funerary structures. At the same time, it is worth remembering that the name Mausoleum of Mausolus is a tautology, and to avoid it, the building can be called the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus or the Tomb of Mausolus.
Since its construction, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus has inspired architects to create structures based on its appearance. When traveling in Aegean Turkey, it is worth seeing the Mausoleum at Belevi, a monumental tomb from the Hellenistic period, located near Selçuk in the province of İzmir. Its dimensions are not much smaller than the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, while the structure at Belevi is much better preserved. The second structure worth visiting is the Gümüşkesen tomb in Milas, mentioned above, built in the Roman period, in the 2nd century CE.
Contemporary architects also often draw inspiration from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. Among the buildings whose appearance is to a greater or lesser extent supposed to resemble the Mausoleum, it is worth mentioning: the National Newark Building in Newark (New Jersey, USA) from 1931, 26 Broadway from 1928 and the General Grant National Memorial from 1897 (both in New York, USA), Los Angeles City Hall from 1928 (California, USA), and the Shrine of Remembrance from 1934 (in Melbourne, Australia). The appearance of the Mausoleum also inspired the spire of the St George's Church in Bloomsbury (Great Britain) and the Masonic House of the Temple in Washington (USA).
One of the most interesting reconstructions of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus is located in the Miniatürk Miniature Park in Istanbul, where over 120 famous buildings from Asia Minor and beyond have been recreated, and all are made on a scale of 1:25.
Archaeological research:
In 1846, the British ambassador to Constantinople, Lord Stratford Canning, obtained permission from the Sultan to dismantle twelve marble reliefs depicting the Amazonomachy, originally from the Mausoleum, which at that time adorned the walls of St. Peter's Castle.
In 1952, Sir Charles Newton was delegated by the British Museum to search for other fragments of the Mausoleum. He did not know the exact location of the structure, and in order to discover it, he studied the works of Pliny the Elder and selected the most likely plot, which he bought from local owners. From this area, he made underground tunnels leading to neighbouring plots, until on the site of one of them he came across the remains of walls, stairs, and foundations of an ancient building.
He then carried out excavations of the uncovered area of the Mausoleum, which yielded many interesting discoveries. He managed to find a broken stone circle with a diameter of about 2 meters, which probably formed part of the quadriga from the roof of the building. He also discovered fragments of reliefs and pieces of the stepped pyramid that once formed the roof of the Mausoleum. Moreover, he found statues of Mausolus himself and his wife Artemisia. Today, all of these exhibits are on display at the British Museum in London. Charles Newton was also responsible for the removal of marble blocks from the Mausoleum, which were transported by a British ship to Malta. There, they were used in the construction of port docks for the Royal Navy. Today, these docks, known as Number One Docks at Bormla, are underwater in the Grand Harbour.
In the years 1966-1977, the Mausoleum area became the subject of research by Professor Kritian Jeppesen from the Danish Aarhus University. Based on his research, Jeppesen created a 6-volume monograph entitled The Maussolleion at Halikarnassos.
Sightseeing:
The area where the Mausoleum once stood is now an archaeological park. In addition to the excavation site, you can visit a small building that houses exhibitions related to the Mausoleum.
The modest remains of the Mausoleum are located within a carefully landscaped area, surrounded by trees and rose bushes. Paths for visitors have been created among the various architectural fragments, and the most important places are marked with information boards.
During the walk, it is worth paying attention to the remains of Mausolus' burial chamber, which are located below ground level. The stairs leading to this chamber have also been preserved. This part of the area has been roofed to protect the valuable remains from the erosion.
An interesting point of the visit is the sight of the preserved fragments of the Mausoleum's drainage system.
Apparently, the system does not work efficiently enough because during our visit in May 2013, the lowest sections of the burial chamber were flooded.
The exhibition area also contains several exhibits from other areas of Bodrum. Of particular note is a well-preserved Hellenistic mosaic from around 100 BCE. It resembles mosaics found in the homes of wealthy citizens on the island of Delos. It was discovered during construction work in the western part of the city.
On the eastern side of the excavation site stands the exhibition pavilion (tr. Sergi Salonu). The friezes depicting the Amazonomachy displayed there are in fact copies of the original bas-reliefs, which are located in the British Museum in London. The copies of the friezes were placed in the vestibule of the exhibition hall, just under the roof, and they are distinguished from the original fragments by, among other things, their very light colour and lack of discolouration.
In addition, the exhibition pavilion houses several original fragments of the Mausoleum, which were recently discovered and thus avoided being exported abroad. Initially, these friezes were exhibited at the Museum of Underwater Archaeology in Bodrum, but have now been moved to the Mausoleum. This makes the visit to this place much more interesting.
The pavilion contains many site plans, maps, and photos from the excavation sites around the Mausoleum. An interesting feature is a collection of sketches showing how the appearance of the Mausoleum was imagined over the centuries and the evolution of these ideas.
The inner hall of the pavilion contains miniature models of the Mausoleum itself, the funeral pyre of Mausolus, and a model of the city of Halicarnassus after its expansion by this Carian ruler.
A glass display case contains smaller architectural fragments from the Mausoleum and several objects found on its premises, including an iron clasp and a lump of melted lead. The whole is complemented by a multimedia presentation on the history of the famous Mausoleum.
Visitor tips:
The remains of the famous Mausoleum are located in Bodrum, on Turgutreis Caddesi. To reach them, you have to walk up the narrow streets leading from the marina. The distance to walk from St. Peter's Castle is about 1 kilometer.
In 2024, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus area is open to visitors every day except Mondays, from 8:30 to 17:30. The entrance fee in 2024 is 3 euros.
There are many information boards in English and Turkish on the grounds of the former Mausoleum and in the exhibition hall.
Although the preserved remains of the Mausoleum are very sparse, we highly recommend a visit to this place for anyone spending their holiday in Bodrum. After all, it's not every day that you get to stand on the site where one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World once stood!
