WE PASS by without noticing them, sometimes scattered in the countryside, or perhaps right near us on our way to work...

As a word, mausolea is the plural of mausoleum, which in turn refers to a free-standing building that encloses a burial chamber or a grave. The first ever was the Mausoleum of Maussollos [at Halicarnassus]. Considered one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World, it was built around 350 BC as a grave honouring the Persian ruler of Caria (part of present-day Anatolia in Turkey). From his name, Maussollos, the word "mausoleum" was derived.

Ever since, mausolea have found their way into the life of every civilisation and culture. Varying dramatically in shape, size and architectural style, they all served the same purpose — honouring the dead...

Snap Shot, Mohamed El-Hebeishy, Al-Ahram, Egypt, Issue No. 856, August 02 - 08, 2007.

[Odsey] house comes with an exceptional pedigree. It was built for the 2nd Duke of Devonshire, owner of Chatsworth, who kept a string of racehorses. The latter ran at Odsey races, which flourished here until the 19th century, when they were overtaken by Newmarket. Michael Rice, the present owner, is an author and expert on statecraft in Ancient Egypt. He explains: “The Duke wanted a house where he knew where everything was. So he commissioned a copy of his house in Manchester Square in London. That’s why it looks like an end-of-terrace house...”

When Rice bought Odsey House 30 years ago, the garden was just a field worn bare by goats. The magical setting he has created compensates for the house’s one drawback: its closeness to the main road. The entrance court, complete with bubbling fountain, looks over the duke’s stable range (now a separate house) with a single-storey range containing a staff flat. Rice walked me through a garden room, with banquet seats for evening drinks, to a grand rectangle of perfect lawn. One vista, framed by clipped balls of yew, leads to a statue of Bacchus. Another, a long paved walk, ends in a white painted Arts & Crafts porch. The lawn is edged by a long yew hedge rising in a gentle Baroque curve to provide a noble backdrop for a large garden seat. Beyond is a stretch of parkland that enjoys perfect seclusion amid mature trees...

Tenuous Egyptology link I know!

A country pile for £1.75 million, The Times, UK, August 03, 2007.

Culture Minister Farouk Hosni has announced the discovery of the cemetery of the royal bodyguard of the Pharaohs' 26th dynasty at the historical area of Abusir [Abu Sir], near the governorate of Sharqiya.

Archaeologists unearthed a huge sarcophagus made up of white limestone.

The sarcophagus contained another small one inscribed with prayers.

The Czech excavation team has also discovered pots, seals and mummification tools.

Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass said the new discovery proves that Abu Sir is replete with many artefacts.

Pharaonic tomb discovered, Egypt State Information Service, Egypt, August 03, 2007.

The 2,300 year-old mummy affectionately known as the Princess of Thebes since arrival at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum in 1964 is a man.

Information from a CT scan performed at St. Elizabeth Hospital by technologist Ron Letourneau in July under the supervision of Dr. Jonathan Elias, Akhmim Mummy Studies Consortium, helped determine that the mummy is a male between 25-30 years of age who died under mysterious circumstances.

Mary Manhein, director of the FACES Laboratory at Louisiana State university interpreted the information from the CT scan and FACES X-rays, aided by an international team of researchers.

The best determination is that she is a he," Manhein said.

The team concluded the young man stood about 5'8" tall and weighed between 124.8 and 131.4 pounds at a minimum.

Manhein said five forensic experts at the FACES lab concurred with her findings, as did 15 other laboratory anthropologists across the country who were asked to interpret the X-rays and CT scan...

Manhein said she primarily used the pelvis and unique size and shaping differences between male and female to determine the mummy's sex. The determination was backed when a small male sciatic knot was discovered, and a blunt male chin was uncovered.

"From the collarbone we were able to tell something about the age," she said. "The clavicle is the last bone in the body to fuse, usually around age 24 to 25, so we could tell the subject was at least that age."

In the most surprising revelation, the young man suffered physical trauma at or about the time of death.

"Something put tremendous pressure on his chest," Manhein said. "He had seven or eight broken ribs..."

LASM mummy's sex, age uncovered by team of forensic scientists, but mysteries remain, Wade McIntyre, The Gonzales Weekly Citizen, Louisiana, USA, July 31, 2007.

The first physical clues to a long-rumoured town that existed on the site of present-day Alexandria have been uncovered — by accident.

While searching under the waves of Alexandria's East Bay for Greek and Roman ruins, archaeologists discovered signs of building construction 700 years older than Alexander the Great's invasion of Egypt.

The conqueror founded Alexandria in 332 B.C.

The new find is "the first hard evidence" of Rhakotis, a town mentioned in several histories of the region but whose existence had never been substantiated, said geoarchaeologist Jean-Daniel Stanley of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History.

And the results, which are published in the August issue of the journal GSA Today, were "a bit of serendipity," Stanley said...

Ancient "Lost" City's Remains Found Under Alexandria's Waters, Dan Morrison, National Geographic News, District of Columbia, USA, July 31, 2007.

cf. Hidden Underwater City Wows Experts, Katarina Kratovac, AP via Discovery Channel News, USA, July 26, 2007.

Previously:

U.S. geological team uncovers first evidence of city hidden beneath Alexandria, July 27, 2007.