MAUSSOLLEION (Mausoleum) – One of the Seven Wonders of the World
The word meaning monumental tomb in European languages comes from the name of king Maussollos. The Maussolleion building is the monumental tomb of Maussollos, son of Hekatomnos, who was the Persian Satrap for Halicarnassus in Bodrum-Turkey 2380 years ago. The home of Supreme Council of Southern Jurisdiction of the USA at 1733 Sixteenth Street, N.W. Washington DC was designed after this monumental building which was made famous by writers in antiquity as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. A virtual tour can be seen at http://www.srmason-sj.org/web/temple.htm.
Milas (Mylasa) was the capital city of the province of Caria during crowning of Maussollos as Satrap on the behalf of Persian king in 377 BC. Soon after, he decided to move the capital to Halicarnassus. Previously being a small town of little local significance and of modest means, Halicarnassus became the most important stronghold of Caria.
The royal palace and the important facilities of the city were surrounded by city walls of 4 miles. Outside of the East wall was called “Emporium” where merchant vessels would land and unload their cargoes for trading. During the time of Maussollos, new areas were added to the ancient quarters of the city and those areas were made accessible by a system of streets crossing each other at 90 degree angles. Those streets can still be traced in the city plan of modern Bodrum. On the ancient avenue which leads to the gate towards another port, called Myndos, an extremely large area was reserved for the tomb of Maussollos, which is in the immediate vicinity of the principle market square in the center of Bodrum. Such honors were traditionally only bestowed on prominent benefactors of cities who would be worshiped after their deaths as individuals ranging from heroes and gods.
Maussollos died in 353 BC, and his wife and sister Artemisia died two years after him. Ancient writers credited this remarkable women with the merits of having organized and supervised the erection of Maussolleion.
The Maussolleion building was located on an artificial terrace measuring 315 by 726 feet. The terrace was surrounded with a white marble wall. A section of the east side of this wall can still be seen today. The building occupied relatively small part of the terrace and most probably was designed to provide sufficient space for the ceremonies.
The model of the building seen in Picture.1 was reconstructed using the references of remaining building elements and the information recorded by Roman writer Pliny in his “Natural History” written in 1 AD.
The upper portion of the building had 36 columns, 11 on the longer side and 9 on the shorter side forming an oblong plan. This area was covered with a stepped roof of 24 levels, carrying a four horse marble chariot on the top. The total height of the building was about 164 feet.
The building had extensive decorations and it was well known for its sculptures. In 1857 British excavations by the permission of Ottoman Empire’s Government resulted with important findings which are now in the British Museum. Groups of sculptures that once decorated the building ranges from the figures of human scale and some colossal sizes. The largest group was the four-horse chariot which on the top of the building. There were sculptures of guardian lions at the lower steps of the roof and human figures all around the facade. Famous Amazon frieze of the British Museum comes from the podium (below the colonnade level) of Maussolleion building.
The exterior of the building was white marble and bluish limestone, while the lower part of the podium and the interiors were build of greenish lava blocks of 1 by 3 by 3 feet which counts 160,000 individual blocks. However the building was systematically demolished to fortify the castle of St. Peter in Bodrum. In 1495 the Knights of St. John started using the stones of Maussolleion. In the course of two decades, it was demolished to the level of foundations and the burial chamber was discovered.
The 27 feet wide stairs down to the sacrifice area, the sacrifice area (180 square feet) itself, burial chamber (19 by 22 feet), plug-blocks to seal the burial chamber and the drainage & climate control systems are the most impressive elements of the remains of the building. Plug-blocks still have traces of repeated unsuccessful attempts by tomb rubbers. However, the tomb chamber was eventually entered through a tunnel underneath the foundations.
Town of Bodrum, host of Knights of St. John, still jealously preserves its unique Mediterranean architectural style, as well as the beauties of the Aegean cost, the Maussolleion site and many other ancient landmarks and museums such as The Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology in The Bodrum Castle of The Knights of St.John. It is not just a collection of lifeless relics, it is an original, creative and exiting experience. It is a trip into a fascinating past of Bodrum in exhibits that take visitors back in time into the worlds of ancient mariners who sailed to meet their destiny shipwrecked on Anatolian shores or to the medieval Age of Knights who built this castle from stones that once were part of one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient World the Maussolleion.
Sources of historic information:
Mr. Oguz Alpozen, Director of the Bodrum Museum in Turkey
The Maussolleion at Ancient Halicarnassus by Kristian Jeppessen