Pharos lighthouse. Historical artwork showing what the Pharos lighthouse at Alexandria,Egypt,in the third century BC,might have looked like. The lighthouse,also known as the Pharos of Ptolemy,was designed by Sostratus of Cnidus,and built in the reign of Pharaoh Ptolemy Philadelphus between 285 and 247 BC. It was built from white marble,and fires were used at night,and mirrors in the day,to direct ships into the bay of Alexandria. Its height was between 115 and 135 metres,one of the tallest man-made objects of the time,and one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was destroyed by several earthquakes in the 14th century. Artwork from The Picture Magazine (volume 111,London,1894) |