The famous lighthouse of Alexandria, perhaps the greatest landmark of the Ptolomaic era, was built on the island of Pharos from which it took its original name. One of the seven wonders of the Ancient World, it was built by Ptolemy II Philadelphus in 279 BC.
The light of the Pharos burnt continually until the Arab invasion, after which there were long periods of disrepair and disuse. It was restored at the end of the ninth century by Ibn Tulun, although not to its full height. In about 1100 the second story fell in an earthquake—although it took another earthquake in the early 14th century to topple it completely. After this Qaitbay used the stones to build the citadel that stands on the site today.
Underwater excavations ongoing since the 1980s have covered several hectares round the rocks at the foot of the Qaitbay Fort and revealed a wealth of granite masonry, sphinxes, statues—some of them colossal—and other artefacts. The rocks are being studied and analysed in a joint European-Egyptian project aiming at preparing a historic and scientific database of the site’s history. A comprehensive atlas of the site, complete with background information on how the Pharos was built and how it collapsed, is planned for next year.
Chosen sites
Watani spoke to Ahmed Shueib, professor of restoration at Cairo University and head of the Egyptian side of Medistone, the joint project with the European Union. Medistone aims at protecting three monumental sites from the Greco-Roman eras in Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco. According to Dr Shueib, Alexandria is experiencing a historic and monumental cultural regeneration and the Pharos was chosen by the EU as an antiquity that linked North Africa to Europe.
The joint project, Dr Shueib added, would take three years of study and research which will include analysing the rocks that were used to build the Pharos, such as rose granite and limestone that were brought from Aswan, and the white marble that was brought from abroad.
Dr Shueib said the French expedition affiliated to the Alexandria’s studies centre had registered the sunken antiquities, especially the pieces representing parts of the Pharos. The sunken objects were registered in cooperation with the sunken antiquities department of the Supreme Council of Antiquities after the accumulated salts had been removed,
Third tallest
With a height variously estimated at between 115 and 150 meters (377 to 492 ft) it was for many centuries one of the tallest man-made structures on Earth, and was identified as one of the Seven Wonders of the World by Antipater of Sidon. It may have been the third tallest building after the two Great Pyramids (of Khufu and Khafra) for its entire life. Some scholars estimate a much taller height exceeding 180 meters that would make the tower the tallest building up to the 14th century.
A well-preserved ancient tomb in the town of Abu Sir, 45 kilometres west of Alexandria, is thought to be a scaled-down model of the Alexandria Pharos. Known colloquially under various names including the Pharos of Abu Sir, the Abu Sir funerary monument and Burg al-Arab (the Arab”s Tower), this a three-story tower, approximately 20 metres in height, is a replica of the Pharos with a square base, a hexagonal midsection and cylindrical upper section. It also dates from the reign of Ptolemy II (285 –246 B.C.), and is therefore likely to have been built at about the same time as the Alexandria Pharos.