KATERINE MARTNEZ

TOPIC: WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The Lighthouse of Alexandria was a tower
built in the third century (between 285 and
247) before Christ, on the island of Faro in
Alexandria, Egypt to serve as a reference
point, with an estimated 115 to 150 meters
high.

It was one of structures the highest
structures made by man for many
centuries, and it was identified as one of
the Seven Wonders of the World by
Antipater of Sidon.
The story indicates that it was built by
an architect named Sostratus by order
of Ptolemy on the island of Faro, off
Alexandria.
The lighthouse had three floors: the first one was squared,
the second was octagonal and the third cylindrical. The
white marble whole measured approximately 135 m
equivalent (440 feet) height from where we could see ships
located 100 miles far away. Angles were decorated with
bronze tritons which was used either to warn of the
approach of the enemy by terrifying sounds, but also to
carry mirrors which, during the night, reflected the light of
a fire. In the daytime, the smoke indicated to the boats the
entrance of the port.

WHY IS THIS LIGHTHOUSE A WONDER
OF THE ANCIENT WORLD?
Its important height and its exemplary
robustness made the lighthouse of
Alexandria unique. Indeed it was
exposed to a strong wind coming from
the sea, that is why it should be
inevitably resistant enought. This
building is the symbol of the technical
exploit shown by the Egyptians.
Furthermore it was one of the first
lighthouses.

Construction
The lighthouse was constructed in the 3rd
century BC. After Alexander the Great died of
a fever at age 32, the first Ptolemy (Ptolemy I
Soter) and commissioned its construction
shortly thereafter. The building was finished
during the reign of his son, the second
Ptolemy (Ptolemy II Philadelphus). It took 12
years to complete, at a total cost of 800
talents, and served as a prototype for all later
lighthouses in the world. The light was
produced by a furnace at the top and the
tower was said to have been built mostly with
solid blocks of limestone.
Destruction
The lighthouse was badly damaged in the
earthquake of 956, and then again in 1142
and 1182. The two earthquakes in 1142 and
1182 damaged the lighthouse to the extent
that the Moroccan traveller Battuta reported
no longer being able to enter the ruin (when
he visited it in 1191).