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Mausoleum of Augustus. Drawing by Etienne Du Pérac from 1575

Among unique memorials, famous monuments and other numerous landmarks of Rome, there is a place that we know under the name Mausoleum of Augustus. This large tomb complex was one of the first projects started by Roman Emeror Augustus after his victory over combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BC. Mausoleum construction began soon after the Battle of Actium and was completed in 28 BC. This large tomb complex was 295 feet in diameter by 137 feet in height. Mausoleum had circular shape with concentric rings and a conical roof upon which Romans set up a huge status of Augustus.

Even by standards of past and present mausoleum pricing was enormous. Roman viewed this mausoleum as a place of respect and prestige. No wonder, that, eventually, the final resting place of Augustus and imperial family of the time became a burial site of members of Julio-Claudian dynasty. Golden urns with ashes of Roman emperors, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius were enshrined in the burial chamber deep inside the mausoleum. Emperor Nerva who did not even belong to that family was the last prominent ruler whose remains were brought there.

Time and people turned the landmark and its mausoleum into a place of impressive ruins. During the sack of Rome in 410 AD, barbaric Goths stole the golden urns and scattered the ashes. They did not destroy, though, the structure of the mausoleum itself. However, in Middle Ages a powerful Roman noble family Colonna turned the place into a castle. The family lost its power and was banished from the city in 12 century. Former mausoleum of Augustus, then castle was dismantled and became a ruin.

Today the landmark is closed to tourists and Italian authorities make serious attempts at restoration of the Mausoleum of Augustus. They face certain difficulties like the mausoleum cost of restoration and lack of architectural plan of the original memorial park.

Only for several days every year public can visit one the most remarkable places in Great Britain - Hamilton Palace Mausoleum. It is the family mausoleum that is a part of the Hamilton Palace complex which is the largest non-royal residence in the western world. Mausoleum design was developed in the middle of 19th century by David Hamilton and the whole structure was completed in 1858 by architects David Bryce and Alexander Richie. Originally, the 10th Duke Hamilton planned this Roman-style burial place to be a private mausoleum for his family members on his land in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Inside the mausoleum, the 10th Duke Hamilton was buried in a sarcophagus, built in the ancient Egyptian style.  The remains of almost two dozen of his ancestors were buried in the crypt below. Later, during the big flooding from river Clyde, the human remains of this grand and unique mausoleum were moved out of this entombment and re-buried in the local cemetery.

The grand marble and granite mausoleum is not only famous of its size, although the latter is remarkable too as it occupies a site of 650 feet and reaches the height of 123 feet. Mausoleum builders “equipped” it with the longest-lasting echo of any building in the world. The visitors of the impressive mausoleum can also witness the acoustic effect that is nicknamed “whispering walls”.  If two people would stand on the opposite sides at both ends of the interior walls facing each other, they  can easily conduct a whispered conversation. Another interesting detail of the family mausoleum was a giant glass oculus on the dome. In 1970 it was emoved and replaced by a perspex version with the help of a helicopter.

Hamilton Palace Mausoleum