Description
The Temple of Artemis, known by ancient writers as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, was destroyed in 263 A.D. Formal gardens surrounded the sanctuary, which served as a place of refuge for people who had inadvertently committed a crime. This kind of complex is called an artemiseum.
The sanctuary originally had 127 ionic columns. The only column standing today was assembled from unrelated drums that were found in the excavations.