Among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus stood as a testament to both architectural ambition and one king’s eternal vanity. Built in what is now Bodrum, Turkey, this monumental tomb rose approximately 148 feet into the Mediterranean sky—about the height of a modern 14-story building—dominating the landscape of ancient Halicarnassus.
The structure was commissioned in the 4th century B.C.E. by Artemisia II to honor her deceased husband (and brother) Mausolus, the powerful satrap of Caria. Its grandeur was such that “mausoleum” became the generic term for any grand tomb, a linguistic legacy that endures to this day.
Pliny the Elder, the Roman scholar and naval commander who documented much of the ancient world, provided our most detailed contemporary description. According to his account, the monument’s base was nearly square, with a perimeter of 411 feet. Thirty-six elegant columns encircled the structure, creating a colonnade that supported a pyramidal roof of 24 steps.
Atop this massive base stood the tomb’s crowning glory: a quadriga, or four-horse chariot, carved from brilliant white marble. The chariot, carrying figures thought to be Mausolus and Artemisia themselves, commanded the pyramid’s summit, serving as a gleaming landmark for approaching ships across the harbor.
The monument’s gargantuan scale demanded innovative engineering. Its foundation extended two feet deep, necessary to bear the mind-boggling 2,000 tons of marble blocks used in its construction. Builders used lead dowels and iron clamps, joined with molten lead, to secure the massive stone blocks, techniques that were revolutionary for their time.
A frieze from the mausoleum depicts a battle between the Greeks and the Amazons. This marble frieze is currently on display at the British Museum. Photo by PHAS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Four of the ancient world’s greatest sculptors, Leochares, Bryaxis, Scopas, and Timotheus, were commissioned to decorate the monument, each master assigned one of its four facades. Their work included dozens of free-standing sculptures and friezes depicting great battles between Greeks and Amazons, all carved in intricate detail. Some of these sculptures survived the monument’s eventual destruction and can be seen today in the British Museum, including a 10-foot statue thought to be of Mausolus himself.
The Mausoleum’s size was matched by its durability. While the other six ancient wonders fell relatively quickly to fire, earthquake, or conquest, the tomb stood largely intact for nearly two millennia. It withstood Alexander the Great’s conquest in 334 B.C.E. and remained standing well into the medieval period, when European crusaders remarked on its monolithic presence.
Ruined Base of Halicarnassus Mausoleum. Photo by Chris Hellier/Corbis via Getty Images
The monument finally collapsed after a series of earthquakes between the 11th and 15th centuries C.E. In 1494, Knights of St. John used many of its still-magnificent stones to fortify their nearby Castle of St. Peter, inadvertently preserving pieces of the ancient wonder within their walls. When they discovered a chamber in the mausoleum filled with beautiful statuary, they initially believed they had found the actual burial chamber, but Mausolus’s true final resting place remains a mystery to this day.
Today, only ruins remain: the Mausoleum’s foundations and scattered debris are still at the original site. However, its influence on architecture and language, combined with ancient descriptions of its majesty, endure. Yet another colossal monument to one man’s ego that successfully captivated our imagination, thus immortalizing his name more than 2,000 years later.