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Discovery and excavation[edit]
An actress performs a play in front of two statues from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. Room 21, the British Museum, London
In the 19th century a British consul obtained several of the statues from Bodrum Castle; these now reside in the British Museum. In 1852, the British Museum sent the archaeologist Charles Thomas Newton to search for more remains of the Mausoleum. He had a difficult job. He did not know the exact location of the tomb, and the cost of buying up all the small parcels of land in the area to look for it would have been astronomical. Instead Newton studied the accounts of ancient writers like Pliny to obtain the approximate size and location of the memorial, then bought a plot of land in the most likely location. Digging down, Newton explored the surrounding area through tunnels he dug under the surrounding plots. He was able to locate some walls, a staircase, and finally three of the corners of the foundation. With this knowledge, Newton was able to determine which plots of land he needed to buy.
