The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, once one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was an extraordinary tomb constructed between 353 and 350 BC for the ruler of Caria, Mausolus.

As a passionate about archaeology this monument has always capture my imagination, so not so long ago I asked myself: "why not try to create a model about it?", and here I am.

From the beggining, my first two priority goals were:

A)   Depict the same number of columns (36 = 9x11) of the original monument.

B)   Recreate as much details as possibile while maintain the overall proportions.

The model is made of 1490 parts, and it mesaure 17 cm high, 18 cm wide and 20 cm deep.

About some details: I’ve used, for example, modified tiles with open clip for the statue on the pyramidal roof, combine with the round plate (with handle) and Pneumatic T Piece for the quadriga and chariot.

For the sculptures reliefs along the walls (warriors mounted on horseback, centaurs, lapiths, Greeks and Amazons), I’ve used different types of round tiles to give the feeling of an ongoing and unified representation.

Is unclear the location of the sarcophagus, so I went in full speculative mode and I’ve decided to place it at the bottom of the monument (represented with the golden pyramid slope 1x1), I thought it would be nice to decorate the interior with corridors, braziers and columns on the sides.

Thanks to this idea the model has a simple but nice interior, that can be easily seen with the removal of the rest of the monument attached with just two studs.

Even if in the Hellenistic Period the monuments and statues were full of colors, I’ve opted to use mainly the white with few other bright colors to achieve an aesthetic-looking feeling.

I’ve also included four stickers, each one carry the name of the sculptor that was assigned to a specific frieze of the Mausoleum (Skopas to the west, Leochares to the est, Timotheos to the south and Bryaxis to the north): a detail that provide an interesting information.

I’ve tried to create a nice looking small set, with a particular attention to details and proportions, that I think is able to communicate the elegance and solicitude, not only of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, but more in general of the art and architecture of the ancient world.