Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

Unfortunately there is not a lot left to see of this ancient and once magnificent tomb, which was named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World but now one must rely just on imagination and (computer) models. King Mausolus of Caria ordered the construction of the ornate marble monument. The mausoleum was completed in 350 BC after the death of the Carian satrap Mausolus by his wife and sister Artemisia II, the actual construction being done by the architect Pytheos. The monument tomb was in the centre of Halicarnassus, rising over a large plot of land. The mausoleum standing at over 164 feet (50 metres) in height, is described as being an enormous white marble tomb with ionic columns to form a temple with a stepped pyramid roof topped with a carriage, containing sculptures of Mausolus and Artemisia riding in a chariot. This stood relatively intact for almost 19 centuries until an earthquake in 1304 destroyed it.