Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria

Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria

by Jimmy Dunn

So impressive was ancient Egypt's building efforts over the pharaonic period that it
commanded two wonders of the ancient world. One, the Great Pyramid of Giza, was
built near the beginning of Egyptian history, while the second, Seventh Wonder was
mostly built by one of Egypt's last pharaohs, Ptolemy I Sorter, though he died prior to
its completion. While the first still stands, the latter was destroyed, almost certainly by
an earthquake. This was Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria, which of the vanished
wonders of the ancient world, was the last built and the last to remain standing.

Pharos Lighthouse stood on the eastern point of Pharos Island some distance from the
city center of Alexandria. Constructed at the beginning of the third century BC over a
period of about twelve years and at an enormous cost and using considerable slave
labor, Pharos Lighthouse was completed and inaugurated by the first Ptolemy's son,
Ptolemy Philadelphus, in 283 (some say 279 BC, when Ptolemy Philadelphus held a
festival to honor his parents). Prior to its destruction, it underwent a number of
modifications by later rulers. The architect was Sostratos, a Greek from the Asia Minor
city of Cnidus, whose name also appears on the sanctuary of Appolo at Delphi and on
Delos. Though only the king's name was allowed on buildings erected during their
reigns in the period, Sostratos got around this by also carving his own with a dedication,
which was then covered with plaster. The consecration in honor of Ptolemy was then
carved into the plaster, which over time peeled away leaving only Sostratos dedication,
which provides, "Sostratos of Cnidus, son of Dexiphanes, to the savior gods, for sailors.

The lighthouse was apparently a tourist attraction from the very beginning. We are told
that food was sold to visitors at the observation platform at the top of the first level. A
smaller balcony provided a view from the top of the eight-sided tower for those that
wanted to make the additional climb. The view from there must have been impressive as
it was probably 300 feet above the sea. There were few places in the ancient world
where a person could ascend a man-made tower to get such a perspective.

The lighthouse was approached first through the Heptastadion at the entrance to
Alexandria's harbor. The Heptastadion was a solid granite wall that extended the length
of seven stadiums and connected the city with Pharos Island.
Much of what we know about the structure of the lighthouse comes from a German
scholar named Hermann Thiersch, who authored a book on the topic that remains one of
the best reference works on Pharos Lighthouse to this day. There was no real lack of
representations of the Lighthouse for Hermann Thiersch to use in his studies of the
structure, for it was depicted on coins, mosaics and small models of it were also
available. While all of these agree as to the building's basic design, none provide much
detail. On the other hand, there is a surprising lack of descriptions by ancient writers
and in fact most come from Arab travelers. Many of these, however, combine precise
details mixed with wild fantasies. While they provide some good information on the
lower levels of the tower, they provide little valuable information about the upper levels
and almost nothing concerning the light source. In fact, by the medieval period the
upper section had already been destroyed.

However, some of their accounts are interesting. Ancient travelers speak, sometimes of
a mirror and sometimes even of a huge lens designed to increase the range and visibility
of the light, but these descriptions frequently come from travelers who visited the
structure after the top section was already lost. One story states that this mirror used in
the beacon could be used as a weapon to concentrate the sun and set enemy ships ablaze
as they approached. Another tale says that it was possible to use the mirror to magnify
the image of the city of Constantinople from far across the sea to observe what was
going on there. Both of these stories seem implausible, though.

A Moorish geographer from Spain, Idrisi, who visited the tower in 1115 AD, was so
impressed with the structure that he numbered all of its stairs and measured the height
of its balconies, bazaars and tower. Fifty years later, another Morrish scholar, undertook
an examination of the tower and tells us that the base tier rested on massive blocks of
red granite and that the blocks were joined not by mortar but by molten lead so as to
reinforce the structure against the heavy pounding of the sea.

Pharos Lighthouse is consistently depicted and recorded as being a monumental edifice

with three tiers, consisting of a lower quadrangular one, surmounted by an octagonal
layer and topped by a cylindrical section. The approach to its entrance was by way of a
long ramp with vaulted arcades. Within, an apparently large spiral ramp led to some
fifty service rooms and also allowed pack animals to bring firewood up to the third tier
to feed the fire that acted as the light source. According to the Moorish travelers, the
building was 300 cubits high. Because the cubit measurement varied from place to
place, this could mean that the Pharos stood anywhere from 450 to 600 feet in height,
although the lower figure is more likely. Some modern interpretations of these
measurements provide that the lowest square, measured about 55.9 m (183.4 ft) high
with a cylindrical core; the middle octagonal with a side length of 18.30 m (60.0 ft) and
a height of 27.45 m (90.1 ft); and the third circular 7.30 m (24.0 ft) high. The total
height of the building including the foundation base was about 117 m (384 ft),
equivalent to a 40-story modern building.

Supposedly, the light from the tower could be seen from almost 100 miles out to sea,
though this seems a little far fetched. Even Thiersch's work is suspect, with a hot fire
burning beneath a copula supported on columns. One must wonder how the stonework
would not crack under the heat of a constant fire. Yet, in several texts a statue is
mentioned that surmounted the lighthouse and from a poet named Poseidippos of Pella,
who lived in Alexandria during the third century BC, we learn that this statue almost
certainly depicted Zeus the Savior, though he may have been accompanied by Poseidon,
the lord of the waves. However, others have suggested that two statues depicted the
Dioscuri, who were the twin sons of Zeus and Leda and protectors of seafarers. In fact,
a gem which has recently been examined suggests that in fact the beacon on the
lighthouse may have been open and the statue, or perhaps a number of statues may not
have surmounted the building but stood on a lower level.

Irregardless of the beacon and statues, many scholars now believe that the lighthouse
did not take on a purely Greek style, as it has so often been portrayed. The Ptolemies
mixed their own culture with that of the Egyptians, and in building the lighthouse, it is
now believed that they probably borrowed from the pharaonic tradition, using Egyptian
stone, though the stone may have been covered in white marble. It must have been a
very solid building, for it survived for nearly two millennia (until the fourteenth century
AD), making the better of violent storms and even large titles waves, such as one that
affected the eastern Mediterranean in 365 AD. Only earthquakes finally got the better of
it. Between 320 and 1303 AD, there were twenty-two earthquakes that shook
Alexandria that were severe enough to be mentioned by ancient writers. During this
period, we have considerable records regarding the structure's life.
In 796, the lighthouse may have lost its upper tier, which apparently went without repair
for about a century. We are told that afterwards, Sultan Ibn Tulun (868-884) built a
mosque with a dome in its place. However, this seems to conflict with Idrisi's report that
the structure still operated as a lighthouse in his visit in 1115 AD. The account of this
mosque may come from an unlikely tale that part of the lighthouse was demolished
through trickery. The story goes that in 850 AD, the Emperor of Constantinople, a rival
port, devised a clever plot to get rid of the Pharos. He spread rumors that buried under
the lighthouse was a fabulous treasure. The caliph supposedly ordered the building to be
torn down, and as the Arab workers began dismantling the cylindrical tower, the huge
mirror of polished metal slipped away from its base and crashed into the sea. The
beacon chamber was then stripped down as well as the eight-sided middle section and
its two balconies. With only the base of the Lighthouse remaining, the caliph realized
that he had been tricked and halted further destruction. He then ordered his workmen to
start rebuilding the tower, but since the damage was now too extensive, the project had
to be abandoned and instead of a tower, a crude mosque was constructed. Idrisi's report
appears to completely negate this tale, though there are a number of reports of such a
mosque surmounting the second tier.

In 950 and again in 956, parts of its surface cracked and to stabilize it, the lighthouse
was reduced by some 22 meters in height. In 1272, the famous Sultan, Salah el-Din
(Saladin) undertook restoration work, but alas, his work was in vain because on August
8th, 1303, a major earthquake shook the whole eastern Mediterranean. This was to be
the end of the Seventh Wonder of the ancient world, as attested to by a maritime map
preserved at Montepellier that dates the quake and notes that the lighthouse was totally
destroyed. Actually, there remained some ruins of the structure for decades to come. A
traveler named Ibn Battuta visited Alexandria twice, once in 1329 and again in 1346. In
the first visit, he was still able to climb the ramp and reach the door of the tower, but on
the second visit, the lighthouse was in such ruins that he could no longer get near it.
These ruins remained for just over a century, until the Mamluk sultan Qait Bey finally
had them cleared away in order to construct his fort which still stands there today.
Supposedly, it uses some of the stone blocks form the Lighthouse in its walls.

However, the story of Pharos Lighthouse does not end here. In 1962, a young diver
searching for fish at a depth of 24 feet, spotted fragments of an immense statue, one
piece alone measuring more than 20 feet in length. Egyptian naval divers, together with
expert from Alexandria's Greco-Roman Museum were summoned to the area and
verified the young man's report, concluding that the sculpture was a fragment of the
colossal statue of Poseidon. Then, in the fall of 1994, a team of archaeological scuba
divers under the direction of Jean-Yves Empereur, also located very large blocks of
stone that are believed to have been a part of the lighthouse, though there is a profusion
of objects superposed from different periods. Some of this material came from
structures in the Nile Delta and from Heliopolis and may have been used in the
lighthouse, though there is a growing notion that the Pharos might have been a part of a
greater complex with both civic and religious functions.

However, it is known that, after the Cypriot king, Pierre I de Lusignan, sacked
Alexandria over two days in 1365, the Mamluk rulers of Egypt attempted to block the
entry to the eastern harbor by jettisoning rubble from the crumbling ancient city. This
fact might have provided a partial explanation for the wealth of remains lying in this
patch of sea but it was not sufficient to account for the presence of certain massive
blocks weighing between 50 and 75 tons. Furthermore, the disposition of the largest
blocks, running in a north-easterly line from the foot of the fort, firmly suggested a
monument of considerable size and height falling in to the sea. This has convinced
researchers that they have indeed found the remains of the lighthouse. Some of the
remains, including sphinxes, columns, capitals, colossi and fragments of inscribed
obelisks, together with two massive segments of the lighthouse, are now on exhibit in
an open-air museum near Kom el-Dikka in Alexandria.
So far, some 2250 blocks have been plotted and archaeologists believe there are at least
500 more to be registered. Though many issues surrounding Pharos Lighthouse remain
mysteries, perhaps someday we will have a much more complete understanding of this
Seventh Wonder of the ancient world.

Read more:
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pharoslighthouse.htm#ixzz2PVdiDCMw