This wonder of the ancient World was located in the island of Pharos just off the
coast of the city of Alexandria in Egypt. The great Lighthouse served to guide the
sailors that traveled to the city founded by Alexander the Great.
The Lighthouse of Alexandria worked by 15 centuries and it was the last of the six
lost wonders of the ancient world that disappeared. It was one of the greatest architectural
feats of the antiquity.
Besides, the Lighthouse was the only wonder that was constructed with practical
purposes; since it helped seafaring ships to find the harbor safely. The lighthouse
served also as a military lookout for approaching enemy ships and a tourist balcony,
because it had two observation platforms.
The Lighthouse had two beacons near its summit. At night a great bonfire generated
the light and during the day a great mirror made with a concave disc of polished metal, reflected and directing the sun rays. The colossal building was constructed
with large blocks of light colored stone and it was composed by 3 basic structural
elements: a rectangular base, an octagonal midsection and a cylindrical upper section
where the beacons were. Access to the entrance was up a long vaulted ramp, from
which a spiral staircase led up to many chambers which were used probably by beasts
of burden to carry fuel for the fire of the beacons. According to ancient stories
the lighthouse could be seen from up 35 miles (56 Km) away and according other legends,
the light of the beacons could burn enemy ships, but this legend is very difficult
to believe.
It believes that the Lighthouse was between 330 and 600 feet (100 – 180 m) height and it was the highest building of the world except the Great Pyramid of Giza. Some
texts mentioned a statue which was placed at top of the lighthouse and a poet named
Poseidipos of Pella who lived in Alexandria in the III century BC, wrote talking
about a statue depicted Zeus the Savior which was accompanied by Poseidon the Lord
of the Sea
History
The construction of the Lighthouse probably started in the III century BC by order of the governor Ptolemy I Soter who was one of the generals of Alexander the Great
and the first ruler of Greek origin. The construction of the impressive building
was finished by the son of the Hellenic general Ptolemy Philadelphos around 285
BC.
Replica of the Lighthouse of Alexandria
The designer and constructor of the Lighthouse was the architect Sostratus who was
forbidden by Ptolemy to put his name on his work as it was traditional. Nevertheless,
the architect wrote an inscription on the base’s walls:”Sostratos of Dexiphanes
the Cnidian to Saviour Gods for the seafarers”. The inscription was hidden under
plaster layer, covered by another inscription in honor to Ptolemy; but after some
centuries the plaster off and the name of the architect was revealed.
During its three first centuries the Lighthouse was used mainly with practical purposes.
By the first century AD in the Roman time the Lighthouse served mainly as a landmark
or day beacon.
In 796 the Lighthouse would have lost its upper storey and 100 years later the sultan
Toulun (868-884) built a domed mosque on the summit. By 950 several cracks began
to appear in the walls of the tower.
The Lighthouse dominated the Harbor during many centuries, in 1183 the Muslim traveler
Ibn Jubayr visited Alexandria and described the Lighthouse thus: “Description of
it falls short, the eyes fail to comprehend it, and words are inadequate, so vast
is the spectacle”.
Unfortunately two earthquakes in 1303 and 1323 damaged seriously the tower; according
to the Arab traveler Ibn Battuta, in this time, it could not enter into the ruins
of the Lighthouse. In 1480 the remains of the Lighthouse finally disappeared, since
the Sultan of Egypt Qaitbay, used several stones of the Pharos to build a fort,
therefore several stone blocks of the Lighthouse can be seen in the walls of the
Fort Qaitbey, these stone blocks are clearly visible because of their big size compare
to the other blocks of the walls.
Recently in 1994 a scuba-diving expedition leaded by the archeologist Jean Yves
Empereur found many blocks belonged to a great building submerged in the seafloor
of the harbor of Alexandria. Probably these blocks were part of the legendary Lighthouse.
Nevertheless, many
academicians think that these blocks belonged to other buildings
because the original blocks of the Lighthouse would have been recycled to build
other constructions as usually Egyptians did.