The Pharos

The Pharos of Alexandria was a great lighthouse built to guide ships at sea through the treacherous waters surrounding the city. Supposedly beset by pirates and shoals, the approach to Alexandria's harbour was a danger to shipping. Commissioned by Ptolemy I shortly after his ascent to the throne of Egypt in 305BC, the lighthouse appears on Antipater's list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and was another of the great buildings of Ptolemaic Egypt.

Built on the island of Pharos, it was linked to the mainland by a great causeway which formed one side of Alexandria's harbour. While it was not as lofty as the Great Pyramid, it remained the tallest roofed structure until surpassed by Lincoln Cathedral in 1311AD.

The lighthouse stood watch over the harbour for more than a thousand years, until it was damaged in an earthquake in 956AD. It was laid low by another series of earthquakes in the 14th century, before the remnants of the structure eventually disappeared when Sultan Qaitbay built a fortress on the site, scavenging stone from the ruins.