The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was approximately 45 metres tall, including its stepped pyramid roof and sculptural decorations.
Built in the fourth century BC, the monument was the tomb of Mausolus, the Persian satrap who ruled Caria from Halicarnassus. His wife and successor, Artemisia II, commissioned or continued the project after his death. The structure combined a tall rectangular burial chamber, a surrounding colonnade, and a pyramidal roof.
Ancient and modern reconstructions differ slightly because the building was damaged by earthquakes and later dismantled for construction materials. The commonly cited height is about 45 metres, or roughly 148 feet. Its monumental scale helped make Mausolus’s tomb so famous that the word “mausoleum” became a general term for an elaborate tomb.
The monument stood in what is now Bodrum, Turkey. Several sculptors contributed statues and reliefs, including a famous four-horse chariot group traditionally placed at the summit.