Somehow when people mention pyramids that served as tombs or mausoleums for royalty, we tend to think of Ancient Egypt and its monumental structures. However, this is not the case: it seems that ancient pyramids were built in different parts of the world and served as memorials and monuments to people.
For example, in ancient Nubia - ancient land that was located in the present day Sudan, there were 220 pyramids built for kings and queens. This number tremendously exceeds 120 pyramids constructed in the ancient Egypt for the period of three thousand years!
Nubia was always heavily influenced by the traditions of ancient Egypt. Its kingdoms located in the Nile valley even competed strongly with Egypt and at some point conquered it. The Nubian kings unified Egypt and became pharaohs of the 25th Dynasty and ruled until the powerful Assyrian kingdom conquered Egypt in 656 BC.
Nubian pyramids built with stone blocks range from 6 to 30 meters high. Their width is relatively small and narrow comparing to their northern neighbors that were up to five times larger.
All Nubian pyramids were all plundered long time ago but archeologists have strong proof that royalty in mausoleums were mummified and wore lots of jewelry. 14 pyramids were built for Nubian warrior queens who successfully ruled their kingdom and added new territories to their land. And the largest pyramid is the final resting place for one of the last Nubian pharaohs of Egypt named Taharqa.
Even before the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, that kind of structures existed even though they could not compete with the former one in their beauty, excess of lavishness. Probably, mastaba tombs can be considered the earliest mausoleums that ever existed on Earth.
Mastaba was a type of tomb where early Egyptian pharaohs and high nobility were buried. It is rectangular in shape and looks from the distance as a bench (this is how this word, actually translated from Arabic). Under this structure priests would lay down a dead body in a deep sealed chamber. In order to preserve the remains, ancient Egyptians invented artificial mummification.
Ancient Egyptians did not have cemeteries or graveyards. So, mastaba also served as a type of funeral memorial. It had a fake door where the family of the deceased and the priests would conduct regular funeral rituals, leave gifts, including food.
There are still a lot of early mastaba tombs in the Abydos It is interesting to note that famous Egyptian pyramids are actually descendants of mastaba. In fact, one of the earliest pyramids represents several mastabas put one on top of the other. It is known by the name Step Pyramid.
Luckily we know the name of the famous architect who converted mastaba into the first pyramid. His name was Imhotep and he lived in the 27th century BC and was a chancellor and high priest of pharaoh Djoser. And this is not all. He is also credited with invention of ancient Egyptian medicine.
Obviously, he was such a genius, that ancient Egyptians believed he became a god after his death. Popular adventure movie Mummy and its sequel are loosely based on the life of Imhotep. Archeologists still search for the location of Imhotep’s tomb but as of now its location is still unknown.
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was a tomb that kept the remains of the ruler of small kingdom Caria in Asia Minor Mausolus and his wife and sister Artemisia. The structure finished after the death of a couple in the 4th century B.C. was of such a beauty that in the antique world it became known as one of the seven wonders of the world. And as a confirmation of this all private tombs currently are called mausoleums deriving their name from this aesthetic triumph of the ancient world.
Young Mausolus had an ambition to build a new beautiful capital and for that purpose chose the city of Halicarnassus, which is presently city of Bodrum in Turkey. He drained their treasury fulfilling ths dream of a young king. But it was his wife Artemisia that came up with the idea to build the magnificent tomb in the center of Halicarnassus to show the world how prosperous they were.
Unfortunately, Mausolus died young and his widow decided to proceed with the creation of his tomb. She hired the best and talented artists and hundreds of craftsmen of ancient Greece for the construction. We know that two greatest Greek architects Satyrus and Pythius worked on the design of the Mausoleum. And sculptural reliefs of the tomb were created by genius of Leochares, Bryaxis, Scopas and Timotheus - most famous Greek sculptors of those times. One of the sculptors - Scopas supervised before the reconstruction of another of seven wonders of the world - Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.
Artemisia passed away only two years after the death of her beloved Mausolus. And then an amazing thing happened. The construction of the Mausoleum had not stopped. Artists and craftsmen decided to work on the tomb and finish it for free because Mausoleum became more than a memorial to the rulers. They felt, that the tomb had to be completed as the memorial of sculptors art for posterity and new generations.
Mausoleum is a building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person. Its plural form is mausolea, although in America we commonly use for plural - mausoleums. What is the origin of the word? It was derived from the name of King Mausollos, ruler of ancient kingdom of Caria. His tomb - Mausoleum - was such an architectural marvel that it was considered to be the greatest aesthetic triumph. Ancients thought of it as the highest achievement and called it one of the Seven Wonders of the Word.
