In a world where the average life span of a human being is less than 80 years, it must be very important to some people to live on through the centuries to our own day. 2400 years ago, in the land called Caria, Maussollos, the son of Hekatomnos, who ruled as an Persian satrap, filled up his treasury by taxing even those who wished to wear their hair long and built for himself a monumental tomb. After it was built, it was made famous by writers in antiquity as one of the seven wonders of the world. The word which means monumental tomb in the languages of the Western Europe comes from the name of this satrap. After surviving for many centuries, this monument was demolished by an earthquake that devastated Western Anatolia on August 8, 1304. The small museum establihed on the site where traces of the tomb’s foundation remain can not fully reflect the splendour of this monumental tomd dating to about 350 BC. However people visiting this garden museum will understand better the culture of that period, Ancient Halicarnassus, and the attention the people living here paid to those who had died.
I would like to thank Prof. Kristian Jeppesen of the Aarus University in Denmark, who excavated the munumental tomb of Maussollos, the Maussolleion, worked to establish the museum, and wrote this booklet.
A Guide to the Maussolleion Museum
When in 1977 the Danish excavations on the site of the Maussolleion had been finshed, it was decided to make the area accessible to public, and in 1982 the Maussolleion Museum was officially opened under the joint auspices of Turkish and Danish goverments. It is now under the management of Bodrum Underwater Museum of Archaeology.
On passing the main entrance at the ticket window you will see on your right the huge cavity cut into the living rock in which the foundations of the tomb monument were embedded, while on your left is the museum building exhibiting finds of particular interest and providing basic information to visitors.
After having visited the museum building one may follow a paved pathway leading around the foundation cutting or inspect the lower part of the cutting at closer quarters by descending to the level of the tomb chamber.
The Museum Building
On entering the latticed porch opening towards the site, proceed directly to the closed exhibition room on your left in which you will find detailed information on the Maussolleion and its history throughout the ages, as well as on the archaeological research on the monument carried out in modern times.
Model of the City of Halicarnassus:
The model illustrates some crucial features of the city plan of Halicarnassus at the time of the erection of the Maussolleion, as they can be reconstructed on the basis of archaeological evidence combined with the description of Halicarnassus given by the Roman architect-writer Vitruvius (1st century BC).
Not long after his ascension as governor of the province of Caria on behalf of the Persian King (ca 377 BC), Maussollous decided to make Halicarnassus his new capital, thus abandoning Mylasa (Milas) which was the native city of his family. While previously a small town of little but local significance and of modest means Halicarnassus now became the most important stronghold of Caria.
A royal palace was erected on the rock in connection with which part of the natural harbor was reserved for a private harbor protecting Maussollous’s fleet of war ships.
These facilities as well as the rest of the city area were surrounded by a city wall some 7 kms long.
East of the city outside the wall was the international market (Emporium) where merchant-vessels would land and unload their cargoes for sale.
New areas were added to the ancient quarters of the city and made accessible by a system of streets crossing eachother at right angles, which can stil be traced in the plan of modern Bodrum.
On the side of the ancient avenue leading to the gate towards Myndos (following approximately the course of Turgutreis Caddesi) and extensive area was reserved for the tomb of Maussollos in the immediate vicinity of the principal market square i.e. in the very heart of the city. Traditionally such honors were only bestowed on prominent benefactors of cities, who would be worshipped after their deaths as individualsa ranging with gods and heroes. On another terrace almost as extensive as that of Maussolleion, of which substantial remains survive under and beneath the modern highway, was probably built the Temple of Mars mentioned by Vitruvius, and at the same level can also be seen the ruins of the theather.
Model of the Maussolleion
Along the rear side of the room ias a model (Scale 1:50) showing the tomb monument proper in its original setting on an artificial terrace which measured 105 and 242m and was surrounded by a wall of white marble.
A section of the foundations of the east side of this wall stil be seen in an open trench to which there is access through a lattice gate south of the museum building, while the north side has been traced along the course of Turgutreis Caddesi up to a point near the hospital, nearly 200 metres west of the museum area.
Since the tomb monument was situated in the NE angle of the enclosure, occupying only a small part of the available space, it remains to explain which purpose the rest of the terrace could have been planned to serve.
As suggested in the model, it may have been used in the first place to provide sufficient open area for the funeral pyre on which the Maussollos was cremated (because of the enormous heat such as pyres would produce, they must be placed at a considerable distance from residental quarters), and for the crowds of spectators witnessing the spectacular event.
The model of the tomb monument illustrates its principal features as they can be reconstructed from surviving remains combined with the information provided by the Roman writer Pliny in his “Natural History” (1.cent. AD)
In accordance with Pliny’s description, the upper part of the building consists of a colonnade of 36 columns on which carries a colossal four-horse chariot of marble in its top.
Assuming that there were 11 columns on the longer sides and 9 columns an the shorter sides (counting the angle columns twice), the plan was oblong rather than square and similar in its proportions (length as compared towidth) to the foundation cutting in the living rock.
The upper part of the structure just described was supported by a podium. The total height of the monument was probably around 50 metres.
From literary sources it is also known that the Maussolleion was particularly famous for its sculptural decoration. This is testified by the finds made by British excavators (1857) on the site of the Maussolleion, which are now in the British Museum in London.
Remains have been excavated of three different friezes carved in relief and of groups of sculptures in the round ranging from natural to colossal size.
The largest group was the four-horse chariot on top of the building, of which substantial parts of the horses and of the wheels of the chariot survive.
One of the friezes, depicting battle scenes in which Centaurs are involved, was probably used to face the basis of the chariot.
On the lowermost step of the roof were placed figures of the guardian lions, presumably intended to ward off evil forces.
A second frieze representing races with four-horse chariots (referring presumably to the competitions arranged on the occasion of the funeral) is likely to have decorate the wall inside the colonnade just below the coffered ceiling.
The third one, the so-called Amazon frieze, was certainly placed at the top of the podium just below the colonnade. Particularly many slabs of the latter frieze are preserved in the British Museum (see the plaster casts on display in the porch).
Some figures may have stood between the columns of the colonnade, but most of the sculptural compositions in the round were placed on bases surrounding the lower part of the podium at various levels, as testified by slabs of a moulded corniceon top of which can be seen shallow cuttings for the plinths of the figures (it may confuse the spectator that these groups are represented on the model as if they were carved in the relief – the method was resorted to for practical reasons, in order to facilitate the work of the carpenter making the model).
While on the outside the monument was revetted with slabs of white marble and bluish limestone, the latter material being used around the lower part of the podium, the interior of the building was compact and consisted of courses of slabs of greenish lava 30 by 90 by 90 centimeters, piled on top of one another from the bottom of the monument to its top. This enormous pile of stone (altogether some 160,000 blocks) also served to protect the tomb chamber until at the beginning of the 16th century it was systematically demolished and used to fortify the walls of the Castle of St. Peter. Being covered with earth after the burial had taken place, the entrance to the tomb chamber was not visible from the outside.
The Porch
In the porch are exhibited samples of the thousands of architectural blocks found on the site by the Danish excavators, a few blocks discovered in the Castle of St. John and casts of slabs from the Amazon frieze which are now in the British Museum.
Various fragments are combined in groups to give the visitor an idea of the way in which the most significant parts of the building were constructed and of technicalities.
Because of the bold projection of some of the members, it has in some casesproved necessary to arrangethe stones upside down. The items are marked with figures which refer to their positions on the monument as indicated on the drawing at the entrance of the museum building. The following are of particular interest.
· Blocks of dark (bluish) limestone from the lower part of the podium, on top of which is a moulded cornice with cutting of sculptures in the round. On the cornice are traces of a painted ornament.
· Four blocks from the Amazon frieze (one of them an angle piece), all found in the Castle of St. John.
· The cornice of the podium below the colonnade (upside down).
· Fragment of the Chariot Frieze showing the horses of a four-horse chariotgalloping towards the right (very battered).
· Reconstructed column base (note the cobination of white marble and dark limestone) and fragments of capitals.
· Coffers from the marble ceiling of the colonnade (upside down) and fragments of the reliefs on top of the coffers.
· Principal cornice above the architrave of the colonnade (upside down)
· Steps from the roof, the lower ones having cuttings for the bases of lion figures.
· Fragments of the Centaur frieze (part of slab deliberately hacked into pieces by stone robbers).
· Half of the belly support of one of the horses of the colossal chariot on top of the monument.
· Ashlars from the wall around the enclosure of the Maussolleion.
The Site of the Maussolleion
The Maussolleion was built on a rock consisting of volcanic deposits which was soft and could easily be cut away to provide an even basis for the enormous weight of the monument.
It was therefore levelled to fit the uniform courses of hard greenish lava which formed the massive core of the building from the bottom to the top. Remains of the lowest of these courses can stil be observed in their original position in various places in the foundation cutting.
The sides of the cutting are protected by modern walls of dry rubble through which arched openings make it possible to perceive the face of the rock behind.
Following the paved pathway south of the cutting, along which are arranged blocks from the Maussolleion (in particular steps from the roof which are characterized by raised edges at the top and deep grooves underneath) one becomes aware of a number of vertical shafts permitting a view into two different systems of subterrenean corridors.
One of these systems which surrounds the foundation cutting of the Maussolleion was undoubtedly made for the purpose of draining off the groundwater from the chamber.
The other dates from a period before the Maussolleion was built. Coming from the upper slope of the Göktepe Mountain it crosses the stairway at the SW angle of the Maussolleion, then proceeds eastwards where it connects with a series of subterranean rooms, presumably the tomb chambers (the site may have been used as a graveyard until at the time of Maussollos it was incorporated in the city area inside the walls).
One of the most suprising results of the recent excavations was the discovery of Maussollos’ tomb chamber, which was accessible from a 9m wide staircase cut in the living rock (now protected by a modern tile roof).
The tomb chamber, ca. 7 by 6m, could be reached through a corridor at the middle of which there was a double door of marble.
Fragments of the door and a sarcophagus of fine workmanship as well as various grave goods such as Attic pottery of the finest quality, appliques of gold and ivory, were found in and around the tomb chamber where it ran along the line of the walls, thus draining off all the moisture.
When the funeral had taken place, the outer part was closed by means of an enormous plug-block of greenish lava. This was fastened by means of cylindrical dowels in the top and in the bottom of the stone which were ingeniously devised to fall into place automatically when the block had been pried into position (two series of pry cuttings can stil be seen in the pavement in front of the corridor).
Then followed the deposition of butchered animals – cows, calves, sheep, hens etc. – which covered an area of some 20 sq.m across the lower landing of the staircase.
Presumably intended to satisfy Maussolos’s appetite in the nether world, this splendid sacrifice was eventually covered by a solid pile of stone blocks which were laid at the same time as the staircase was filled up completely with earth.
In the later times the entrance was discovered by tomb robbers who made repeated attempt to remove the plug-block by trying to cleave it or to cut it away. Several traces of these unsuccessful efforts can stil be seen on the stone. However, eventually the tomb chamber was entered and plundered through a tunnel dug into the living rock underneath the foundations.
Under the modern tile roof along the north side of the foundation cutting can be seen a row of square piers of rough workmanship which must have been erected in connection with the building of the Maussolleion (probably for the purpose of supporting slabs with incised marks to indicate crucial lines in the groundplan of the building such as the axes of the columns), and behind the piers are the foundaitons of the north side of the wall surrounding the enclosure of the Maussolleion. A coloumn drum still lying, where it was found, behind an opening in the rubble wall indicates the level ofthe area around the Maussolleion at the time of its demolition.
Historical Notes
At the sumptuous funeral of Maussollos following his death in 353 B.C. a competition was arranged among eminent rhetoricians to praise the virtues of the deceased. The winner, Theopompos, seems to have been entrusted with the honorable task of delivering the laudatory speech at the funeral of Maussollos’ widow Artemisia who was also his sister. She died two years after her husband and brother. Ancient writers credited this remarkable woman with the merits of having organized and supervised the erection of the Maussolleion. However, a monument of such magnificance could not possibly have been finished in the course of two years. More likely, the building had already been under construction for some time when Maussollos died, so that it was left to Artemisia merely to bring the work to its completion as speedily as possible.
According to the Roman writers Pliny and Vitruvius, the lavish sculptural decoration on the Maussolleion was carved by Grek artists, among whom are mentioned in the first place the famous sculptors Scopas, Bryaxis, and Leochares. The Maussolleion, so named after Maussollos, soon became so famous as to be ranked, on a par wih Egyptian pyramids, among the seven most spectacular sights of the ancient world. In Roman times its name was used as a term for contemporary tombs of similar splendor.
Virtually nothing is known of the later history of the Maussolleion until about 1495 the Knights of St. John started using its stones in the western ramparts of the castle. In the course of a few decades the building was demolished right down to the level of its foundations where eventually the tomb chamber was discovered, as reported by a contemporary witness. Quite probably, however, the building was already in a deplorable state of preservation when the Knights began to dismantle it systematically. Halicarnassus is situated outside regions frequently afflicted by eartquakes, but even moderate repercussions from a distant earthquake could have disfigured the monument to such an extent that its attractions were lost.
If, for instance, the colossal marble chariot on top of the monument had been shaken, broken pieces from it might have slid down the roof, thus upsetting first the lion figures they came across, thereafter damaging the eaves of the roof and crushing in their fall projecting parts of the lower building and some of the sculptures lining the foot of the podium. Similarly, even slight displacements in the courses of green lava in the interior might have caused parts of the marble revetment on the outside to crack and peel off. In fact some breaks found on the cornice of the podium are so weathered that these stones might have been hit while they are still in their original position on the monument several centuries before it was demolished.
The history of modern research commenced when in 1848 C.T. Newton of the Biritish Museum obtained permission to remove a number of frieze slabs and lion figures which he found immured in the walls of the castle. In 1857 Newton discovered the site of the Maussolleion and excavated the foundation cutting and adjoining parts of the terrace. On the basis of his finds it proved possible to reconstruct some characteristic features of the building, but most of the structure was still so inadequately known that a complete reconstruction of the monument could only be suggested in very tentative terms. Disagreement between scholars on the interpretation of the finds published by Newton gave rise to a long series of learned discussions none of which resulted in any definite solution of the problems. Evidently, therefore, no satisfactory results could be hoped for, unless additional evidence could be produced through reexcavation of the site of the Maussolleion. In 1966 a Danish expedition directed by professor Krisitan Jeppesen, University of Aarhus, Denmark, obtained permission to carry out new investigations in Bodrum.
During the first campaigns in 1966 and 1967 the expedition managed to trace the full extent of the Maussolleion terrace. In 1970 it proved possible to acquire the area covering the foundation cutting of the Maussolleion, the reexcavation of which was finished in 1972. It resulted in the first place in the discovery of the tomb chamber and the sacrificial deposit in front of the tomb, but also brought to light many important and hitherto unexamined architectural fragments Newton had left on the site. On the basis of the latter material it is now possible to elucidate several features of the building of which previously little or nothing was known.
Combining the richness of sculpture in relief and in the round with the subtleties of the late classical style of monumental Ionic architecuture, the Maussolleion was immensely admired throughout Antiquity. Its influence can be traced in several monuments such as, for example, the famous atlar at Pergamum. In the Hellenistic period a tomb monument imitating the maussolleion rather closely, both in size and composition, through also differing in some respects, was erected at Belevi some 10 kms north of Ephesus. A copy on a diminutive scale, the so-called Gümüþkesen, which is still visible in the outskirts of Milas, was built at the time of Augustus. Other buildings of the Ionic style in Caria contemporary with or a little later than the Maussolleion are preserved in the sanctuary at Labranda north of Milas.
Here Maussollos dedicated a banquettinghall which was used at religous festivals. During one of his visits to Labranda an attempt was made on his life, as recorded in an inscription. Similar episodes may have taken repeatedly place, for to all appreance he was in possesion of absolute power, and literary sources testify that he must have been a shrewd and unscrupulous person who was much feared and hated by his subjects.
The monumental character of his memorial proves that his authority was a highly esteemed as that of heroes like Herakles and Theseus, or even as that of the Olympian gods. He therefore seems to have anticipated the ruler-cult which was organized officially by Alexander the Great and his successors.
I would like to thank Prof. Kristian Jeppesen of the Aarus University in Denmark, who excavated the munumental tomb of Maussollos, the Maussolleion, worked to establish the museum, and wrote this booklet.
A Guide to the Maussolleion Museum
When in 1977 the Danish excavations on the site of the Maussolleion had been finshed, it was decided to make the area accessible to public, and in 1982 the Maussolleion Museum was officially opened under the joint auspices of Turkish and Danish goverments. It is now under the management of Bodrum Underwater Museum of Archaeology.
On passing the main entrance at the ticket window you will see on your right the huge cavity cut into the living rock in which the foundations of the tomb monument were embedded, while on your left is the museum building exhibiting finds of particular interest and providing basic information to visitors.
After having visited the museum building one may follow a paved pathway leading around the foundation cutting or inspect the lower part of the cutting at closer quarters by descending to the level of the tomb chamber.
The Museum Building
On entering the latticed porch opening towards the site, proceed directly to the closed exhibition room on your left in which you will find detailed information on the Maussolleion and its history throughout the ages, as well as on the archaeological research on the monument carried out in modern times.
Model of the City of Halicarnassus:
The model illustrates some crucial features of the city plan of Halicarnassus at the time of the erection of the Maussolleion, as they can be reconstructed on the basis of archaeological evidence combined with the description of Halicarnassus given by the Roman architect-writer Vitruvius (1st century BC).
Not long after his ascension as governor of the province of Caria on behalf of the Persian King (ca 377 BC), Maussollous decided to make Halicarnassus his new capital, thus abandoning Mylasa (Milas) which was the native city of his family. While previously a small town of little but local significance and of modest means Halicarnassus now became the most important stronghold of Caria.
A royal palace was erected on the rock in connection with which part of the natural harbor was reserved for a private harbor protecting Maussollous’s fleet of war ships.
These facilities as well as the rest of the city area were surrounded by a city wall some 7 kms long.
East of the city outside the wall was the international market (Emporium) where merchant-vessels would land and unload their cargoes for sale.
New areas were added to the ancient quarters of the city and made accessible by a system of streets crossing eachother at right angles, which can stil be traced in the plan of modern Bodrum.
On the side of the ancient avenue leading to the gate towards Myndos (following approximately the course of Turgutreis Caddesi) and extensive area was reserved for the tomb of Maussollos in the immediate vicinity of the principal market square i.e. in the very heart of the city. Traditionally such honors were only bestowed on prominent benefactors of cities, who would be worshipped after their deaths as individualsa ranging with gods and heroes. On another terrace almost as extensive as that of Maussolleion, of which substantial remains survive under and beneath the modern highway, was probably built the Temple of Mars mentioned by Vitruvius, and at the same level can also be seen the ruins of the theather.
Model of the Maussolleion
Along the rear side of the room ias a model (Scale 1:50) showing the tomb monument proper in its original setting on an artificial terrace which measured 105 and 242m and was surrounded by a wall of white marble.
A section of the foundations of the east side of this wall stil be seen in an open trench to which there is access through a lattice gate south of the museum building, while the north side has been traced along the course of Turgutreis Caddesi up to a point near the hospital, nearly 200 metres west of the museum area.
Since the tomb monument was situated in the NE angle of the enclosure, occupying only a small part of the available space, it remains to explain which purpose the rest of the terrace could have been planned to serve.
As suggested in the model, it may have been used in the first place to provide sufficient open area for the funeral pyre on which the Maussollos was cremated (because of the enormous heat such as pyres would produce, they must be placed at a considerable distance from residental quarters), and for the crowds of spectators witnessing the spectacular event.
The model of the tomb monument illustrates its principal features as they can be reconstructed from surviving remains combined with the information provided by the Roman writer Pliny in his “Natural History” (1.cent. AD)
In accordance with Pliny’s description, the upper part of the building consists of a colonnade of 36 columns on which carries a colossal four-horse chariot of marble in its top.
Assuming that there were 11 columns on the longer sides and 9 columns an the shorter sides (counting the angle columns twice), the plan was oblong rather than square and similar in its proportions (length as compared towidth) to the foundation cutting in the living rock.
The upper part of the structure just described was supported by a podium. The total height of the monument was probably around 50 metres.
From literary sources it is also known that the Maussolleion was particularly famous for its sculptural decoration. This is testified by the finds made by British excavators (1857) on the site of the Maussolleion, which are now in the British Museum in London.
Remains have been excavated of three different friezes carved in relief and of groups of sculptures in the round ranging from natural to colossal size.
The largest group was the four-horse chariot on top of the building, of which substantial parts of the horses and of the wheels of the chariot survive.
One of the friezes, depicting battle scenes in which Centaurs are involved, was probably used to face the basis of the chariot.
On the lowermost step of the roof were placed figures of the guardian lions, presumably intended to ward off evil forces.
A second frieze representing races with four-horse chariots (referring presumably to the competitions arranged on the occasion of the funeral) is likely to have decorate the wall inside the colonnade just below the coffered ceiling.
The third one, the so-called Amazon frieze, was certainly placed at the top of the podium just below the colonnade. Particularly many slabs of the latter frieze are preserved in the British Museum (see the plaster casts on display in the porch).
Some figures may have stood between the columns of the colonnade, but most of the sculptural compositions in the round were placed on bases surrounding the lower part of the podium at various levels, as testified by slabs of a moulded corniceon top of which can be seen shallow cuttings for the plinths of the figures (it may confuse the spectator that these groups are represented on the model as if they were carved in the relief – the method was resorted to for practical reasons, in order to facilitate the work of the carpenter making the model).
While on the outside the monument was revetted with slabs of white marble and bluish limestone, the latter material being used around the lower part of the podium, the interior of the building was compact and consisted of courses of slabs of greenish lava 30 by 90 by 90 centimeters, piled on top of one another from the bottom of the monument to its top. This enormous pile of stone (altogether some 160,000 blocks) also served to protect the tomb chamber until at the beginning of the 16th century it was systematically demolished and used to fortify the walls of the Castle of St. Peter. Being covered with earth after the burial had taken place, the entrance to the tomb chamber was not visible from the outside.
The Porch
In the porch are exhibited samples of the thousands of architectural blocks found on the site by the Danish excavators, a few blocks discovered in the Castle of St. John and casts of slabs from the Amazon frieze which are now in the British Museum.
Various fragments are combined in groups to give the visitor an idea of the way in which the most significant parts of the building were constructed and of technicalities.
Because of the bold projection of some of the members, it has in some casesproved necessary to arrangethe stones upside down. The items are marked with figures which refer to their positions on the monument as indicated on the drawing at the entrance of the museum building. The following are of particular interest.
· Blocks of dark (bluish) limestone from the lower part of the podium, on top of which is a moulded cornice with cutting of sculptures in the round. On the cornice are traces of a painted ornament.
· Four blocks from the Amazon frieze (one of them an angle piece), all found in the Castle of St. John.
· The cornice of the podium below the colonnade (upside down).
· Fragment of the Chariot Frieze showing the horses of a four-horse chariotgalloping towards the right (very battered).
· Reconstructed column base (note the cobination of white marble and dark limestone) and fragments of capitals.
· Coffers from the marble ceiling of the colonnade (upside down) and fragments of the reliefs on top of the coffers.
· Principal cornice above the architrave of the colonnade (upside down)
· Steps from the roof, the lower ones having cuttings for the bases of lion figures.
· Fragments of the Centaur frieze (part of slab deliberately hacked into pieces by stone robbers).
· Half of the belly support of one of the horses of the colossal chariot on top of the monument.
· Ashlars from the wall around the enclosure of the Maussolleion.
The Site of the Maussolleion
The Maussolleion was built on a rock consisting of volcanic deposits which was soft and could easily be cut away to provide an even basis for the enormous weight of the monument.
It was therefore levelled to fit the uniform courses of hard greenish lava which formed the massive core of the building from the bottom to the top. Remains of the lowest of these courses can stil be observed in their original position in various places in the foundation cutting.
The sides of the cutting are protected by modern walls of dry rubble through which arched openings make it possible to perceive the face of the rock behind.
Following the paved pathway south of the cutting, along which are arranged blocks from the Maussolleion (in particular steps from the roof which are characterized by raised edges at the top and deep grooves underneath) one becomes aware of a number of vertical shafts permitting a view into two different systems of subterrenean corridors.
One of these systems which surrounds the foundation cutting of the Maussolleion was undoubtedly made for the purpose of draining off the groundwater from the chamber.
The other dates from a period before the Maussolleion was built. Coming from the upper slope of the Göktepe Mountain it crosses the stairway at the SW angle of the Maussolleion, then proceeds eastwards where it connects with a series of subterranean rooms, presumably the tomb chambers (the site may have been used as a graveyard until at the time of Maussollos it was incorporated in the city area inside the walls).
One of the most suprising results of the recent excavations was the discovery of Maussollos’ tomb chamber, which was accessible from a 9m wide staircase cut in the living rock (now protected by a modern tile roof).
The tomb chamber, ca. 7 by 6m, could be reached through a corridor at the middle of which there was a double door of marble.
Fragments of the door and a sarcophagus of fine workmanship as well as various grave goods such as Attic pottery of the finest quality, appliques of gold and ivory, were found in and around the tomb chamber where it ran along the line of the walls, thus draining off all the moisture.
When the funeral had taken place, the outer part was closed by means of an enormous plug-block of greenish lava. This was fastened by means of cylindrical dowels in the top and in the bottom of the stone which were ingeniously devised to fall into place automatically when the block had been pried into position (two series of pry cuttings can stil be seen in the pavement in front of the corridor).
Then followed the deposition of butchered animals – cows, calves, sheep, hens etc. – which covered an area of some 20 sq.m across the lower landing of the staircase.
Presumably intended to satisfy Maussolos’s appetite in the nether world, this splendid sacrifice was eventually covered by a solid pile of stone blocks which were laid at the same time as the staircase was filled up completely with earth.
In the later times the entrance was discovered by tomb robbers who made repeated attempt to remove the plug-block by trying to cleave it or to cut it away. Several traces of these unsuccessful efforts can stil be seen on the stone. However, eventually the tomb chamber was entered and plundered through a tunnel dug into the living rock underneath the foundations.
Under the modern tile roof along the north side of the foundation cutting can be seen a row of square piers of rough workmanship which must have been erected in connection with the building of the Maussolleion (probably for the purpose of supporting slabs with incised marks to indicate crucial lines in the groundplan of the building such as the axes of the columns), and behind the piers are the foundaitons of the north side of the wall surrounding the enclosure of the Maussolleion. A coloumn drum still lying, where it was found, behind an opening in the rubble wall indicates the level ofthe area around the Maussolleion at the time of its demolition.
Historical Notes
At the sumptuous funeral of Maussollos following his death in 353 B.C. a competition was arranged among eminent rhetoricians to praise the virtues of the deceased. The winner, Theopompos, seems to have been entrusted with the honorable task of delivering the laudatory speech at the funeral of Maussollos’ widow Artemisia who was also his sister. She died two years after her husband and brother. Ancient writers credited this remarkable woman with the merits of having organized and supervised the erection of the Maussolleion. However, a monument of such magnificance could not possibly have been finished in the course of two years. More likely, the building had already been under construction for some time when Maussollos died, so that it was left to Artemisia merely to bring the work to its completion as speedily as possible.
According to the Roman writers Pliny and Vitruvius, the lavish sculptural decoration on the Maussolleion was carved by Grek artists, among whom are mentioned in the first place the famous sculptors Scopas, Bryaxis, and Leochares. The Maussolleion, so named after Maussollos, soon became so famous as to be ranked, on a par wih Egyptian pyramids, among the seven most spectacular sights of the ancient world. In Roman times its name was used as a term for contemporary tombs of similar splendor.
Virtually nothing is known of the later history of the Maussolleion until about 1495 the Knights of St. John started using its stones in the western ramparts of the castle. In the course of a few decades the building was demolished right down to the level of its foundations where eventually the tomb chamber was discovered, as reported by a contemporary witness. Quite probably, however, the building was already in a deplorable state of preservation when the Knights began to dismantle it systematically. Halicarnassus is situated outside regions frequently afflicted by eartquakes, but even moderate repercussions from a distant earthquake could have disfigured the monument to such an extent that its attractions were lost.
If, for instance, the colossal marble chariot on top of the monument had been shaken, broken pieces from it might have slid down the roof, thus upsetting first the lion figures they came across, thereafter damaging the eaves of the roof and crushing in their fall projecting parts of the lower building and some of the sculptures lining the foot of the podium. Similarly, even slight displacements in the courses of green lava in the interior might have caused parts of the marble revetment on the outside to crack and peel off. In fact some breaks found on the cornice of the podium are so weathered that these stones might have been hit while they are still in their original position on the monument several centuries before it was demolished.
The history of modern research commenced when in 1848 C.T. Newton of the Biritish Museum obtained permission to remove a number of frieze slabs and lion figures which he found immured in the walls of the castle. In 1857 Newton discovered the site of the Maussolleion and excavated the foundation cutting and adjoining parts of the terrace. On the basis of his finds it proved possible to reconstruct some characteristic features of the building, but most of the structure was still so inadequately known that a complete reconstruction of the monument could only be suggested in very tentative terms. Disagreement between scholars on the interpretation of the finds published by Newton gave rise to a long series of learned discussions none of which resulted in any definite solution of the problems. Evidently, therefore, no satisfactory results could be hoped for, unless additional evidence could be produced through reexcavation of the site of the Maussolleion. In 1966 a Danish expedition directed by professor Krisitan Jeppesen, University of Aarhus, Denmark, obtained permission to carry out new investigations in Bodrum.
During the first campaigns in 1966 and 1967 the expedition managed to trace the full extent of the Maussolleion terrace. In 1970 it proved possible to acquire the area covering the foundation cutting of the Maussolleion, the reexcavation of which was finished in 1972. It resulted in the first place in the discovery of the tomb chamber and the sacrificial deposit in front of the tomb, but also brought to light many important and hitherto unexamined architectural fragments Newton had left on the site. On the basis of the latter material it is now possible to elucidate several features of the building of which previously little or nothing was known.
Combining the richness of sculpture in relief and in the round with the subtleties of the late classical style of monumental Ionic architecuture, the Maussolleion was immensely admired throughout Antiquity. Its influence can be traced in several monuments such as, for example, the famous atlar at Pergamum. In the Hellenistic period a tomb monument imitating the maussolleion rather closely, both in size and composition, through also differing in some respects, was erected at Belevi some 10 kms north of Ephesus. A copy on a diminutive scale, the so-called Gümüþkesen, which is still visible in the outskirts of Milas, was built at the time of Augustus. Other buildings of the Ionic style in Caria contemporary with or a little later than the Maussolleion are preserved in the sanctuary at Labranda north of Milas.
Here Maussollos dedicated a banquettinghall which was used at religous festivals. During one of his visits to Labranda an attempt was made on his life, as recorded in an inscription. Similar episodes may have taken repeatedly place, for to all appreance he was in possesion of absolute power, and literary sources testify that he must have been a shrewd and unscrupulous person who was much feared and hated by his subjects.
The monumental character of his memorial proves that his authority was a highly esteemed as that of heroes like Herakles and Theseus, or even as that of the Olympian gods. He therefore seems to have anticipated the ruler-cult which was organized officially by Alexander the Great and his successors.
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