Lost🗼 Tower & skyscraperAntiquity
Lighthouse of Alexandria
The lighthouse combined harbour infrastructure with the representation of a cosmopolitan capital. The name Pharos became a general term for lighthouses in several languages.
Photo: Prof. Hermann Thiersch (1874–1939) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Facts
- Place
- Alexandria, Egypt
- Civilisation / patron
- Ptolemaic Egypt
- Built
- c. 300 BCE – 280 BCE
- Destroyed
- c. 1480 · Medieval earthquakes destroyed the tower; the remaining ruin was replaced by the Citadel of Qaitbay.
- Status
- Lost
- Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
History
A lighthouse was built on the island of Pharos under the early Ptolemies to guide ships into the harbour of Alexandria. Ancient and medieval descriptions refer to a multi-tiered stone tower whose original height is uncertain. Repeated earthquakes, particularly in the medieval period, reduced it to a ruin. Around 1480 the Citadel of Qaitbay was built on the site using surviving building material.
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Sources: Wikipedia — Vuurtoren van Alexandrië