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The construction of the Lighthouse of Alexandria was completed during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. It ranked as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In fact, it was the only Wonder that had a practical secular use. This blend of beauty and scientific practicality was exclusive to the Ptolemies and their culture.
Its architect, the sorcerer and engineer Sostrates of Knidos, was a contemporary of Euclid. Proud of his work, Sostrates, desired to have his name carved into the foundation. Ptolemy II, the son who ruled Egypt after his father, refused this request wanting his own name to be the only one on the building. A clever man, Sostrates had the inscription:
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There are detailed descriptions made of the lighthouse in the 10th century A.D. by Moorish travelers Idrisi and Yusuf Ibn al-Shaikh. According to their accounts, 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.
The design was unlike the slim single column of most modern lighthouses, but more like the structure of an modern skyscraper. There were three stages, each built on top of the lower. The building was constructed of marble blocks with lead mortar. The lowest level was probably more that 200 feet in height and 100 feet square, shaped like a massive box. Inside this section was a large spiral ramp that allowed materials to be pulled to the top in horse-drawn carts.
On top of this section was an eight-sided tower. On top of the tower was a cylinder that extended up to an open cupola where the fire that provided the light burned. On the roof of the cupola was a large statue of Poseidon. The lower portion of the building contained hundreds of storage rooms.
The interior of the upper two sections had a shaft with a dumbwaiter that was used to transport fuel up to the fire. Staircases allowed visitors and the keepers to climb to the beacon chamber. There, according to reports, a large curved mirror, perhaps made of polished metal, was used to project the fire's light into a beam. It was said ships could detect the light from the tower at night or the smoke from the fire during the day up to one-hundred miles away.
The lighthouse was apparently a tourist attraction. It was even shown on Roman coins. 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.
There are stories that the mirror 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. Certainly the mirror was a sorcerous engine, but what has happened to it since the fall of the tower is unknown. Was it broken beyond recognition in the rubble of the tower? Does it lie beneath the waters of the Mediterranean just waiting for the fire to power it up once more?
How then did the world's first lighthouse wind up on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea? There is an unlikely tale that part of the lighthouse was demolished through trickery. In 850 A.D. 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. When the Caliph at Cairo who controlled Alexandria heard these rumors, he ordered that the tower be pulled down to get at the treasure. It was only after the great mirror had been destroyed and the top two portions of the tower removed that the Caliph realized he'd been deceived. He tried to rebuild the tower, but couldn't, so he turned it into a mosque instead. As colorful as this story is there does not seem to be much truth in it. Visitors in 1115 A.D. reported the Pharos intact and still operating as a lighthouse.
For seventeen centuries from its construction in 285 BC to its final destruction in the mid-14th century of our era it served as a guide to seafarers approaching the coast of Egypt. The fact that it survived all these years given its exposed situation - winter storms can be violent at Alexandria - clearly suggests that we are talking about a building of exceptional quality. It was, in fact, only earthquakes that could really touch the Lighthouse and there were plenty of them over the centuries.
Between 320 and 1303, there were twenty-two of sufficient strength to be noted by the classical and Arab writers. In 796, the Lighthouse lost its upper storey and 100 years later the sultan, Ibn Touloun (868-884), built a domed mosque on the summit. Between 950 and 956, cracks began to appear in the walls and the tower lost some twenty-two metres in height. In 1261 another earthquake struck and more masonry fell.
Certainly, as an object of admiration on the part of the Arabs it also became an object of their care and there are several recorded instances of repairs being undertaken. In 1272, for example, the sultan, Salah el Din (Saladin), ordered certain restoration work. And so the Lighthouse survived into the 14th century.
On 8 August, 1303 a violent earthquake shook the eastern Mediterranean basin. The effects were felt in Greece, the Levant and in the Nile Delta. Alexandria was particularly badly hit. In fact, as Ibn Taghribardi wrote, "The princes in charge of religious foundations were for long occupied in repairing the damage inflicted upon schools, mosques and even the Lighthouse." It must have been pretty badly damaged because this is the last record of repairs being attempted. In 1326, the Moroccan traveller, Ibn Battuta, passed through Alexandria for the first time and recorded that he climbed the ramp leading to the tower entrance. On his return to the city in 1349 this was no longer possible: the Lighthouse was in ruins.
The final chapter in the history of the Lighthouse came in AD 1480 when the Egyptian Mamelouk Sultan, Qaitbay, decided to fortify Alexandria's defense. He built a medieval fort on the same spot where the Lighthouse once stood, using the fallen stone and marble.
