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References
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The Alexandria
lighthouse stood on Pharos Island in the harbor
off Alexandria, Egypt. It was the tallest structure in the
world when it was built. It was said that the Lighthouse
could be seen from thirty-one miles away.
The project of building the Lighthouse
was begun by Ptolemy Soter around 290 BC. Sostratus, a
contemporary of Euclid, was the architect. He consulted with
the scholars at the Alexandria
library for help with calculations for the
structure.
The Alexandria Lighthouse was the last of the Ancient
Wonders to disappear, so archaeologists can give
an accurate description of it. It was built in three layers.
The lowest was a square 183.4 feet high. The middle layer
was an octagon 90.1 feet tall. The top was circular and 24
feet high. The entire Lighthouse was 384 feet, or almost 40
stories, high!
Once it was completed, the Lighthouse functioned day and
night to make sure that sailors could safely navigate the
dangerous waters into the harbor. It used the sun by day and
fire by night. The fuel for the fire was probably coal
and/or wood. The giant mirror used to reflect the sunlight
was so powerful that legend says it could burn enemy ships
miles before they reached Alexandria.
When the Arabs conquered Egypt they mistakenly removed the
mirror from the Lighthouse. The building itself stood until
1323 AD, when a powerful earthquake destroyed it.
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