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In 377 BC, the city of Halicarnassus was off the coast of Asia Minor (southwestern Turkey). There was a ruler, Hecatomnus, who was the father of a son and daughter. Mausolus, the son, and Artemisia, the daughter became husband and wife. Hecatomnus died, leaving Mausolus and Artemisia as the next rulers. In 353 BC Mausolus died. Queen Artemisia built a great tomb to show her love. The tomb was so great because of its size and decorations that future tombs where named Mausoleums after King Mausolus. The tomb was so great it became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. There was no expense spared. She hired Greek architects named Satyros and Plythious to design the tomb and she also hired 4 Greek sculptors named Bryaxis, Leochares, Scopas, and Timotheus to carve the bands on the building. The tomb was on a hill. The base was a platform that had many stairs leading up to it. There were stone statues in forms of gods and goddesses, lions, and warriors on horseback. On the roof was a chariot. It also had relief sculptures (sculptures built in walls) of Amazons (woman warriors), Greeks, Centaurs (half-man and half-horse), and Lapiths (warriors who were said to be descendants of Apollo). The mausoleum stood 140 feet high with a rectangular basement beneath a colonnade (row of pillars) formed by 36 slim columns on each side and solid blocks holding the roof. On the pyramid shaped roof stood a statue of a chariot with four horses pulling Queen Artemisia and King Mausolus. The Rhodians rebelled sending and to attack Halicarnassus. Queen Artemisia hid her fleet of ships in the harbor. Queen Artemisia captured the Rhodians by surprising them. The queen’s sailors took over the Rhodian’s ships and sailed back to Rhodes. The Rhodians were taken by surprise and easily over taken. Around 351 BC Queen Artemisia died and was buried with King Mausolus in the unfinished tomb. Finally the craftsmen finished building the tomb as a tribute to themselves (the craftsmen). The mausoleum withstood a great attack by pirates, and still was standing for seventeen centuries. The chariot and the columns fell due to a lot of earthquakes. By 1404 AD, only the base of the tomb was recognizable. Crusaders took stones to build their own castles. In 1522, the Crusaders took more of the tomb’s stones to fortify the castle walls from Turkish attacks. Knights found a secret room in the tomb holding the coffins of Queen Artemisia and King Mausolus. The tomb was plundered by others before morning. Queen Artemisia and King Mausolus’ bodies were missing. Some think it was the villagers who took the bodies, and others think it was the Crusaders. We do not know? Crusaders did save the remaining statues for three centuries. A British Ambassador took the statues to England. In 1846, the British Museum sent Charles Thomas Newton to find more of the tomb. Newton figured out where to find part of the tomb from Pliny’s ancient descriptions. Newton bought land where he thought the mausoleum was located. He dug tunnels and found 66 large pieces of the tomb: some relief statues, a staircase, the platform, and the foundation. He also found broken chariot wheels seven feet in diameter, and statues of King Mausolus and Queen Artemisia. All these can be found at the British Museum in London where both statues of King Mausolus and Queen Artemisia stand watch over their precious remains. So they have bits and pieces of the 5th Ancient Wonder of The 7 Ancient Wonders. |
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