The Great Pyramid of Giza

There are almost always articles about the Great Pyramid at sci.archaeology. Topics may vary from construction theories and techniques to new discoveries. Also you may check News and Gossip from Cambridge University.

The Lighthouse of Alexandria

November 25, 1998

A sphinx statue of Cleopatra's father, Ptolemy XII, was recovered in October 98 at Alexandria's Eastern Harbor. Other artifacts including a shipwreck were discovered as well. For more information, check CNN's article, which was posted on October 29, 1998.

December 19, 1997

PBS aired a program on American TV in November 1997 on last year's discoveries by the French archaeological team off the coast of Alexandria. The findings included parts of the ancient Pharos Lighthouse. Visit their Web site, Treasures of the Sunken City, for more information.

January 16, 1997

New discoveries are underway in Alexandria. Reports on finding the Ptolemaic Palace and remains of the Lighthouse are in the international news section at the Daily Telegraph You will need to register (for free), then using their search tool, search for the keyword "Alexandria". There are three new articles with a picture, and a map showing the new discoveries.

CNN World News also provides an article about the new discoveries, with pictures and a quicktime movie, and an editorial on the same subject. There is also a French article at L'Evenement about last year's excavations.

December 1995

As part of the on-going Lighthouse project, French and Egyptian divers retrieved a red granite woman torso from the sea-bed. Archaeologists expect to retrieve more pieces, including a few granite blocks from the monument itself. Other retrieved pieces include sphinxes, column bases and capitals, and a statue of the Egyptian goddess Isis.

"Before, we had only some representations of the Pharos in mosaics, in paintings, and on glass. Now we have pieces of the lighthouse itself." said Jean-Yves Empereur, the head of the Mission Archaeologique sous-marine. He also added they had no plans to retrieve large (75 tons) blocks. While some archaeologists believe the pieces subsided up to six meters, others suggest they were sumped in the harbor as rubble.

The future of the site is still disputed. While the French team of marine achaeologists and some local scientists support the idea of an underwater archaeological park, Egyptian authorities favor more the idea of fortifying the foundations of the medieval Qait-Bay Fortress built on the Lighthouse foundation.

From news:sci.archeology (October 5, 1995)

davenpart@aol.com wrote:

I saw on CNN tonight that there is a major project underway at the site of the Pharos (sp?) lighthouse at Alexandria. Apparently the plan is to bring the ruins of the entire lighthouse up to the surface stone by stone, using powerful balloons to float the stones and debris to the surface of the water. TV pictures showed cranes lifting the first item out of the water - it was the partial torso of a female figure. It seems that there are numerous statues and other objects mixed in with the stonework of the lighthouse.

From Adam Philippidis (October 3, 1995)

FROM: http://www.newton.cam.ac.uk/egypt/news.html

Gareth Lloyd (gareth.lloyd@wcmc.org.uk) has kindly provided the following paraphrase of an article in the Daily Telegraph, Tuesday, September 26, 1995.

A team of French archaeologist divers believe they have found the remains of the former Wonder of the Ancient World, the lighthouse of Alexandria. The tower, known as Pharos, was constructed under Ptolemy I on an island of the same name adjacent to the harbour at Alexandria. It's original height has been variously estimated to be around the same as that of the Great Pyramid, but with a much narrower base of 86 feet square. This gave the structure a unique "skyscraper" like appearance. A fire beacon atop the lighthouse was magnified with mirrors or a lens and was visible from a distance of up to 40 miles away. The archaelogists have found various masonry blocks under the sea off Alexandria which they are confident come from Pharos and they are currently searching for the giant statue which once surmounted the structure.

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