The Artemision of Ephesus

Excavations

Architect John Turtle Wood was sent by the British Museum in 1863 to locate the lost temple. Fighting bandits, budgets, workers, and his complete ignorance to the position of the temple, Wood had it worse than Indiana Jones, and no sexy female associates. Six years, a broken collarbone, and a stabbing later, Wood discovered the temple beneath twenty feet of mud. In all, he would remove 132,000 cubic yards (or 120,700.8 meters) of swamp, ultimately creating a 300 foot (91.44 meters) wide and 500 foot (152.4 meters) long opening in the earth. Wood removed the sculptured segments and sent them to the British Museum, where they are visible to this day.

A second expedition from the British Museum was sent in 1904, led by D. G. Hograth, found evidence of five temples, each one built over the other. Today, all that remains of the temple is a sole column erected from remnants found at the site.

Austrian excavations at the Artemision and at Ephesus began in 1895 and continue today.