When was lighthouse of alexandria built

But nowadays this thesis is refuted because such a monument could not have received other mentions than that of King Ptolemy I, which he surely received but of which we have no trace. In fact, a papyrus preserved in the Louvres tells us that the dedication was not intended for the lighthouse but for the statue that overcame it.

It is a poem. This safeguard of the Greeks, that watchman of Pharos, O Lord Proteus, has erected him, son of Dexiphanes of Cnidus, for in Egypt you do not look for heights on islands; at the level of the water stretches the bay where the boats anchor. That is why erect upright, cut out the sky a visible tower at innumerable stages during the day. At night, in the midst of the waves, the sailor will see the great fire which, at the top, burns, and can run straight on the horn of the Tauros, and which navigates in these waters, can not fail, O Proteus, Zeus Savior.

Is this the beginning of an error that will endure to the present day or the reality? For the time being neither the archaeologists nor the historians have succeeded in answering this question clearly. If the architect of the lighthouse remains unknown to this day, the place of edification is perfectly known, it is on the island of Pharos, an island which at the time was a short distance from the coast.

Since the silts of the Nile have filled the arm of the sea between the two, turning the island into peninsula. The lighthouse was at the eastern end of the island, on the site of Fort Qaitbay.

Moreover, the latter was built partially with the stones of the collapsed lighthouse. This island was at that time more important than it is today. It was higher, roughly 5 to 6 meters, and it had support walls that are always visible in scuba diving. Proof of the location of the Alexandria Lighthouse was provided by teams of French archaeologists who carried out a series of underwater diving in the harbor, as explained below.

It should also be noted that Diamond Island was mentioned as a possible place to build the lighthouse, but this hypothesis is now obsolete. In any case, this island is too frightening for it to have received a lighthouse, even after the bombing of that it received from the English navy.

Larn more about the location of the wonders. It is the Souda, a Greek text of the Xth century, which makes it possible to know the date of the beginning of the work, A translation of this text, for Article of the letter Phi, is :.

Lighthouse: to the masculine, designates the Lighthouse of Alexandria, that erected under Ptolemy king of Egypt Sostrate of Cnidus, son of Dexiphanes, on Pharos, the island of Proteus, at the time when Pyrrhus the heir Achilles has already received power over Epirus.

This provision being given to him in , we have here the date of beginning of the works. They would have lasted only 15 years if one believes the chronology of Eusebius which affirms that it was completed at the time of the th Olympiad, under Ptolemy II. Such a speed in the construction of such a building is quite remarkable, it is a sign both of a good knowledge of the architecture, but also of the financial health of the sponsor, the satrap governor of Egypt became king Ptolemy I, who could put the means to finish his monument quickly.

At that time it was common to see construction sites stretching for several generations, even if they were not the most frequent cases. As far as the cost of the lighthouse is concerned, it is estimated by Pliny the Elder to talents of silver Pliny the Elder lived in the 1st century AD, 4 centuries later.

Difficult to make an effective comparison with modern means The lighthouse of Alexandria was built of limestone from a quarry near the coast. Geologically this area is sufficiently rich in stone to have necessitated the transport of stones from other regions, unless they have explicitly wanted special stones.

It could have been the case, such as using marble, but in practice it is indeed limestone that was used. These stones had a clear appearance, which made the visitors say that the lighthouse was white - which is false. Note that the stones of Fort Qaitbay are reusable from those of the lighthouse, so have little to see nowadays what these stones were at the time.

Moreover, those found in the port are indeed limestone. But limestone is a soft stone, for a lighthouse it is not a very suitable material.

It is easy to imagine that in the 3rd century BC it was difficult to recover more solid stones in other regions, but this is what was done for the part of the lighthouse most at risk: Angles of the building, frames of the doors and windows, which were built of granite from Aswan. One finds such a way of building at Fort Qaitbay. The fitting of the stones is quite surprising, as far as we know.

The description of the assembly of the lighthouse is little known, it is a hypothesis. The manufacturers obviously did not use mortar to tie the stones together but used an old grooving technique. They were visibly assembled on a bed of molten lead, acting as a shock absorber. What is factual is that the rate of lead in the sea around the archaeological site is important, according to Jean-Yves Empereur, the French archaeologist in charge of maritime excavations.

In fact it is easy enough to know what the lighthouse of Alexandria looked like, as it is represented many times on ancient documents. Ancient, but not enough to be contemporary with the monument, so there is always a part of interpretation in its representation, however weak.

But to be honest, the lighthouse of Alexandria is probably the wonder of the World that is best known, aesthetically speaking, apart from the Pyramid of Cheops, of course. One notices the famous lighthouse which has no equivalent in the world in terms of structure and solidity; for, independently of what is made of excellent stones of the kind called caddzan, the foundations of these stones are sealed together with molten lead, and the joints are so adherent that the whole is indissoluble, that the waves of the sea, on the north side, continually strike this edifice.

They ascend by a broad staircase, built in the interior, as are ordinarily those which are practiced in the towers of the mosques. The first staircase ends towards the middle of the lighthouse, and there the edifice becomes narrower by its four sides. In the interior and under the staircase were built rooms.

Starting from the middle gallery, the lighthouse rises to its summit, narrowing more and more, not beyond, however, that a man can always make the turn while ascending.

From this same gallery one ascends again, to reach the summit, by a staircase of dimensions narrower than those of the lower staircase. The lighthouse is pierced, in all its parts, with windows destined to procure daylight for persons ascending, and so that they may properly place their feet in ascending. This edifice is singularly remarkable, on account of its height as well as its solidity; it is very useful in that it lights night and day of fire to serve as a signal to navigators; the people of the ships recognize this fire and are directed accordingly, for it is visible from a maritime day [ miles] away.

During the night, it appears as a brilliant star; during the day one distinguishes the smoke. The entrance to the Lighthouse is very high. It is accessed by a long meter ramp. This is based on a series of arches [ Once we reached the top of the first floor, we measured its height above the ground with a piece of rope to which we attached a stone. We found In the center of the terrace of this first floor, the building was prolonged, but with an octagonal shape [ This second floor was higher than the first.

On entering we saw a staircase which consisted of eighteen steps, and we debouched in the center of the second terrace. The building was still prolonged in a cylindrical form [ We entered and ascended thirty-one steps to reach the third floor, the height of which we measured with our rope: 7.

After the last earthquake it was abandoned and fell to ruins. This allowed sailors to see the beam at night. The smoke from the fire was important during the day as it guided sailors during the day. Both the beam of light and the smoke could be seen as far as miles away. The second is the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Lighthouse of Alexandria was the third longest to survive. In the last the lighthouse's remaining stone was used to build the Citadel of Qaitbay by the sultan of Egypt Qaitbay.

The citadel was built on the same island where the lighthouse once stood. Julius Caesar mentions the Lighthouse of Alexandria in his writings. Search Search for: Search. It is believed to have been the first-ever lighthouse to have been built.

A fire was burnt at the top by night, helping ships to safely enter the port, while a mirror was used by day to reflect the sunlight.

It was built in three sections, each section slightly smaller than the lower one. The lowest was square-shaped, the second an octagon, and the third a cylinder. It is thought that the lighthouse was around feet meters tall with a spiral staircase to reach the top. At the time of its construction, it was one of the tallest buildings in the World and it served as a model for future lighthouses. The first series of earthquakes happened in and and caused major damage. The first structural collapse, making the top 20 meters of the building fall over, happened in a very severe earthquake in Nevertheless, the lighthouse was rebuilt and an Islamic dome was integrated replacing the statue that used to be on top of the lighthouse before.

Finally, in , the then-Sultan of Egypt built a medieval fort using the fallen stones of the lighthouse. The first major archeological expedition took place in This was due to the lack of specialized archeologists and they are starting to become militarized. In the s there have been two major archeological expeditions. The expedition led by Empereur led to the discovery of blocks of granite, 30 sphinxes, and 5 obelisks. In total, over 3, artifacts were cataloged , of which 36 can now be found in museums in Alexandria.

The other 90s expedition led by Franck Goddio took place on the other side of the harbor and had similar success as it uncovered remains of houses, temples, and numerous artifacts. The Lighthouse of Alexandria, also known as the Pharos of Alexandria, was the first lighthouse ever built in the entire world.

While today we have the Burj Khalifa as the tallest man-made structure in the world, the lighthouse of Alexandria held the title of being the second-tallest made structure in the world for numerous centuries. It was even the second most important city in the Mediterranean after Rome. The Lighthouse of Alexandria is considered to be one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world and the third-longest surviving one. Only the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Pyramid of Giza, the only one that still exists today.

The reason the lighthouse of Alexandria was built, just as with any other lighthouse, was to safely guide sailors into the port since it was believed the inhabitants of Pharos were wreckers. Being the first to ever have such a powerful navigation system in place, it also allowed the city of Alexandria to become one of the most important cities of its time.

The total cost to build the Lighthouse of Alexandria was talents of silver , the currency used at that time.