The Lighthouse of Alexandria — the Pharos — was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. About how tall was it, and how long did it stand?
Built under Ptolemy II Philadelphus around 280 BC at the entrance to Alexandria's harbour. Estimated height between 103 and 118 metres — the tallest human-built structure in the world for most of its existence. A series of medieval earthquakes (956, 1303, 1323 AD) progressively destroyed it. The Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay used its remaining stones to build a citadel on the same site in 1480; the Qaitbay Citadel still stands. The lighthouse design — multiple stepped tiers (square base, octagonal middle, cylindrical top) with a fire and reflector at the summit — set the template for the entire subsequent European lighthouse tradition.
Read the full story →For sixteen hundred years the Pharos of Alexandria threw light over a sea. Three earthquakes finished what nothing else could.
Related questions
- Approximately how long did the Lighthouse of Alexandria stand?
- The Crystal Palace — the enormous cast-iron and plate-glass building that housed the Great Exhibition — went up in Hyde Park in 1851. Joseph Paxton designed it. How long did construction take from approval of his design to opening day?
- Cleopatra VII had two famous Roman political alliances, both producing children. The two Romans were?
- Cleopatra ruled Egypt and is on every Egyptian souvenir from Cairo to Aswan. What was her ethnic background, actually?