MAUSOLEUM, is the general term applied to a sepulchral edifice. Originally, however, Mausoleum (MayooNetov) designated the magnificent structure erected at Halicarnassus, B.O. .352, by Artemisia, as the sepulchre of her husband, Mausolus, king of Caria. So far did this surpass in magnificence all similar structures, that in the time of Pausanias, mausoleum had come to be the generic term for a costly tomb. Recent researches have invested the Mausoleum of Halicar nassus with a new interest.
Pliny gives a somewhat minute description of the building (xxxvi., 5), from which it appears to have been oblong in plan, the north and south sides extending 63 feet, the ends or fronts being shorter. The person was, he says, surrounded by thirty-six lofty columns, above which, and of equal height, rose by steps a pyramidal roof, the apex of which was surmounted with a quadriga. The entire height was 140 feet : the entire circuit 411 feet. Pythis and Satyrus were the architects. The sculptures with which it was adorned were the work of Scopas, Bryaxis, Timotheus, and Leochares, each of whom executed the frieze of one of the sides : the quadriga being the work of Pythis. All the ancient writers who refer to it do so in terms of unbounded admiration; and in the time of Pliny, and for centuries after, it was regarded as one of the "wonders of the world." Gradually, however, it appears to have become ruinous ; in part at least it was probably thrown down by an earthquake, and its destruction was nearly com pleted when, in 1404, the Knights of Rhodes took possession of Halicar nassus and employed the materials of the Mausoleum in the erection of the castle, or fortress, of San Pietro. Twice, within little more than a century, was the castle repaired or enlarged, the Mausoleum still serv ing as a quarry ; yet until the last occasion (1522) a large portion of the lower part of the building, including much of the sculpture, must have remained standing, as it is particularly described (from the narra tive of one De la Tourrette who was present at its final destruction) in the Funerailles des Romains, Grecs, &c.,' of Guichard (Lyon, 1581, as quoted by Messrs. Newton and Hawkins). Eventually Halicarnassus passed into the hands of the Turks, who gave to the place the name of the castle, which they corrupted into Budrum, and the very site of the famous sepulchre was forgotten. Archaeologists, indeed, at various times, published their conjectures, and travellers once and again visited the spot in the hope of verifying them ; but until within the last few years all was uncertainty.
The researches of Sir Charles Fellows in Asia Minor having called attention once more to the subject, the English government directed their ambassador at Constantinople, Sir Stratford Canning, if possible to secure the sculptures still existing in the Castle of Budrum from further injury; and he, having obtained a finnan from the Sultan, caused them to be carefully removed and forwarded to the British Museum. They consisted of two or three mutilated statues and eleven slabs, which proved to be a portion of the frieze described by Pliny as containing the Amazonomachia, or Battle of the Amazons with the Greeks, a work of exceeding interest in the history of Greek art. Mr. C, T. Newton, an assistant in the Department of Antiquities of the British Museum, now thoroughly reinvestigated the whole subject, and pub lished the result of his inquiries In a paper which appeared In the' Classi cal Museum,' vol.. v. (1847). Later Mr. Newton visited Budrum, and having submitted a proposition for exploring the site of the Mausoleum which met with the approval of the government, ho was appointed vice consul at 3Iitylene ; a &man was obtained from the l'orte, empowering him to make the requisite excavations, and the English government (the Earl of CLIrendon being then Foreign Secretary) supplied him with a ship-of-war, a body of sappers, an officer of engineers, and an accomplished architect as assistants, together with every requisite for the successful prosecution of the undertaking. The remarkable results of the explorations, so far beyond what the moat sanguine had anti cipated, have been published in the "Papers respecting the excava tions at Budrum," presented to Parliament in 1858.59, and in various literary journals and proceedings of societies ; but a more ample, thoroughly digested, and fully illustrated work on the subject, by Mr. Newton and Mr. Pullen. the architect associated with him, is an nounced as ready for publication. To that we must refer for further infor mation. Here it will be enough to say that after one or two essays kr the place comisionly supposed to be the site of the Mausoleum, Mr. Newton commenced working on a spot Indicated by Professor Donald son, and soon found that he had come upon the actual site. The explorations were necessarily long and tedious. Mr. Newton had to purchase and remove several houses, to employ a large number of native hands, and to exercise great caution in his dealing with the Turkish authorities. But his labour was well repaid.