The Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, will soon come alive again – thanks to a digital rendering project.
Located on an island near Pharos, Alexandria, the lighthouse stood as a sight of awe for more than 1500 years. However, it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1303, leaving only sketches and writings to describe its magnificence. However, a project is currently underway that aims to bring the ancient wonder to life digitally.
Dubbed the Pharos Project, the team comprises historians, architects, and computer programmers. Isabelle Hairy, renowned architect and lead of the project, illustrated one of the major challenges: “The architectural fragments lie scattered over 18 acres underwater.” Last year, the team successfully lifted some of the granite blocks to the surface for the purpose of 3D scanning them.
So far, the project has been able to scan more than 5000 fragments that once belonged to the legendary structure. Already this has led to some interesting revelations, like a pylon that used both Greek architecture style with Egyptian aesthetics. But the erosion caused by centuries of submersion has made the process painfully slow, and the team estimates it would take “generations” to finish it.
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The Lighthouse of Alexandria, also known as the Pharos Lighthouse, was located in ancient Egypt. It was commissioned by Ptolemy I Soter, the Greek general under Alexander the Great, and completed in the 3rd century B.C. With a height of 460 feet, it was the second tallest structure in the ancient world after the Great Pyramid of Giza.
