Ancient wonder believed lost to history resurfaces from the sea after centuries, sparking fascination.
For centuries, the Pharos Lighthouse was just a submerged myth among tales and ruins. Today, thanks to an international archaeological mission, part of its greatness has resurfaced from the depths of the sea. Scientists are now seeking to virtually reconstruct this ancient wonder, revealing new clues about its history, architecture, and the symbolic power it still holds.
Colossal fragments resurfacing
Some pieces —some weighing up to 80 tons— mark a significant milestone in underwater archaeology. These pieces, which were part of its main entrance, combine architectural elements from Egyptian and Greek traditions and were found off the eastern port of Alexandria. Although its existence had been known since 1968, it was in the last three decades that efforts intensified to identify and classify the remains of the lighthouse. Archaeologist Jean-Yves Empereur had already documented more than 3300 fragments, but pieces of such size and relevance had never been recovered before. Now, with new technologies and an international collaborative approach, the most imposing pieces have been extracted and prepared for the next step.
The digital rebirth of a lost wonder
Each fragment will be precisely scanned in millimeter detail through underwater photogrammetry. The goal is ambitious: to reconstruct in 3D the Pharos Lighthouse, stone by stone, as if it were an archaeological puzzle. To achieve this, researchers are combining digital data with ancient descriptions, coins, engravings, and manuscripts documenting its original appearance. With more than 100 pieces already digitized, this construction could bring back one of the world’s most enigmatic and majestic structures, now as an interactive model accessible to the public and future generations of researchers.
A tower that marked history… and wants to shine again
Built in the 3rd century BC under the reign of Ptolemy I, the Pharos Lighthouse towered over 100 meters above the island of Pharos, guiding Mediterranean sailors. Its destruction, caused by an earthquake in 1303, did not erase its legacy: many of its stones were reused to build the Qa’it Bay fortress. But what seemed like a closed story is reopening. Technology has allowed for the retrieval of key pieces of this vanished wonder from the silence of the sea. And now, as if time were giving a second chance, the lighthouse could rise again… even if it’s in the digital world.
