Egypt to rebuild the Lighthouse of Alexandria

[skywizard]

The lighthouse is thought to have had three distinct sections, as this 2006 computer-generated
image shows


Plans to rebuild one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Pharos Lighthouse, have
been approved by Egyptian authorities, it's reported.

The feat of ancient engineering, which is also known as the Lighthouse of Alexandria, was completed around 280BC, and is estimated to have been between 110m and 130m high. The plan is to rebuild the lighthouse a few metres away from where it once stood in the coastal city of Alexandria, as the original location is now occupied by the Qaitbay Citadel, the Cairo Post reports. Egypt's permanent committee on antiquities has approved the proposal and now it's just down to the Alexandria's regional government to sign-off on it, Dr Mostafa Amin, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, tells the Youm7 website.

The Pharos Lighthouse was one of the most famous structures of the ancient world. "The original building comprised three stages: a lower square section with a central core, a middle octagonal section and a circular section at its top," archaeology professor Fathy Khourshid tells the Cairo Post. It guided ships using a mirror during the daytime, and a fire at night. The lighthouse suffered damage during a series of earthquakes and is believed to have been destroyed by one in the early 14th Century. Bits and pieces of the structure were used to build the Qaitbay Citadel, and more remains were discovered in Alexandria's harbour in 1990s.

When it is completed the structure should prove itself a popular tourist destination while providing a unique glimpse back to an age that has long since been lost in the mists of time.



Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-f...where-32595767




peace...

[bsbray]

This is extremely interesting to me in many ways. Maybe someone here knows the answers to these questions, or if not I can try to research them myself later.

1) What were the construction materials?
- 1a) The Romans had concrete that was even stronger than concrete today and no one is sure the exact recipe they used, but 280 BC is 250 years prior to Roman occupation of Egypt. Did the Greek-speaking Hellenistic culture also have this advanced knowledge of concrete?
- 1b) If the structure was made entirely of concrete, are there any buildings of comparable height made entirely of concrete today (ie with no steel rebar, etc.)?

2) How was this building destroyed and over what time period?

3) How much of its remains have been recovered?


Feel free to fill me in if you know any of the answers to these questions. I'll have to follow up on some of these questions when I have less on my plate.

[Rebel&Rocket]

1) Limestone (although the concrete you're speaking of - I believe it was found in South America too?)

2) Several earthquakes between 956AD and 1323AD

3) Remnants were used to build the Citadel of Qaitbay, then archeologists found more remnants in the east harbor in Alexandria in 1990s

(no, I didn't know all of that - just wiki'd it)