Labraunda
Labraunda
THE SITE
Ancient authors about Labraunda
The remains inside the Sanctuary
The remains outside the sanctuary
Bibliography
Preliminary Excavation Reports
This shows that the tomb was opened several times. It is not known whose tomb this was. In my opinion, it is not likely that it was the tomb of Idrieus, first of all because the architectural blocks are all of gneiss. Since all buildings erected by Idrieus at Labraunda were either completely built of marble or had marble fronts, it is unlikely that his tomb was entirely of gneiss. Since it appears to belong to the second half of the 4th century, is more likely that it was built for a dynasty of hereditary priests, who after the time of Maussollos and Idrieus appear to have been the most important individuals at Labraunda. The priest Korris, who in ca 240 BC complained to king Seleukos II of Syria about the wrongdoings of Mylasa, is the best example of the high status of Labraunda and its priest. Korris’ father was no doubt also the priest at Labraunda. It is even possible that the first priest in charge for life after the Hekatomnids was their forefather and that one of the individuals buried in the tomb was Korris himself.
The Built Tomb
View of the Built Tomb from the south.
Remains outside the sanctuary
In the steep slope to the north, above the sanctuary, lies the Built Tomb, which is 7.8 meters wide and 9.7 meters long (ca. 13.5 meters, including the forecourt). In the slope some Doric architectural blocks of gneiss, which were found here, have been arranged. They belong to the superstructure of the tomb. The tomb chamber and its ante-room are corbel-vaulted. Above the chamber is a low relieving chamber under the roof. Both the profiles of the architectural blocks and the vault type indicate a date in the second half of the 4th century BC. A huge gneiss block that once closed the entrance to the tomb can be seen in the forecourt. In the ante-room there was one sarcophagus on each side, built of stone slabs. In the tomb chamber there are three large monolithic sarcophagi.
Section of the Built Tomb, by E. Landron, in: Le Bas, 1847–70
Chamber of the Built Tomb,
from the entrance.
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