Mausoleum

Origin of: Mausoleum

Mausoleum

Since the 16th century, a mausoleum is a stately tomb or sepulchre and the word derives from King Mausolus of Caria, an ancient kingdom situated in southwest Turkey. After the death of Mausolus in 353 BC, his wife, Artemisia, had him buried in a magnificent tomb, 45 metres high, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was situated at Halicarnassus where the site and a few ruins can still be seen near Bodrum in Turkey.