The Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria (/ˈfɛərɒs/; Ancient Greek: ὁ Φάρος τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας, contemporary Koine Greek pronunciation: [ho pʰá.ros teːs a.lek.sandréːaːs]), was a lighthouse built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom between 280 and 247 BC which has been estimated to be 100 metres in overall height.^[1] One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, for many centuries it was one of the tallest man-made structures in the world.
Badly damaged by three earthquakes between AD 956 and 1323, it then
became an abandoned ruin. It was the third longest surviving ancient
wonder (after the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the extant Great Pyramid of Giza) until 1480, when the last of its remnant stones were used to build the Citadel of Qaitbay
on the site. In 1994, French archaeologists discovered some remains of
the lighthouse on the floor of Alexandria's Eastern Harbour.^[2] The Ministry of State of Antiquities
in Egypt has planned, as of late 2015, to turn submerged ruins of
ancient Alexandria, including those of the Pharos, into an underwater
museum.^[3]