Pharos
by Ernst Offerman, Haarlem, Netherlands

The size of the model of the Pharos is clearly shown.  This model is 151 cm high, and the base is a square of 105 cm.  The Pharos was built between 290 and 270 BC.  The original structure, which had been damaged by earlier earthquakes, was destroyed by one between 1326 and 1340.  In 1480 the Sultan Qait Bey built a fort on the foundation. 
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The lantern was about 115 meters over the base, which was another 7 meters above the water.  It is not known whether the lantern was lighted, or just served as a beacon, perhaps with a bronze mirror.  (Keep in mind that most ships did not sail at night, but hove-to until dawn.  A fire at night would not have been very useful.  On the other hand, being able to see an approaching fleet or ship would have been very useful.)  The mirror may have been used to signal Alexandria from the Pharos.  There are written reports of this use, though the city was only a few km from the Pharos.  The designation "lantern" may be just a modern assumption.  On the top of the Pharos was a statue of Poseidon.
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Al-Shaikh (1132 - 1207) wrote a description of the Pharos.  In 1933 Don M. Lopez Otero made drawings of the Pharos based on Al-Shaikh's descriptions.
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Ernst does not bypass details.  The stone inscription (in Greek) is there.  The statues of Triton blowing a shell horn were mounted on the four corners of the lower, square, portion of the Pharos.
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A closer look at the base.

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