THE FATHER OF LIGHTHOUSES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1861, 22 September 1913, Page 5

THE FATHER OF LIGHTHOUSES.

Ever since mail began to navigate the waters lie baa endeavoured to light them at night. The', father of lighthouses, of course, was the ancient Pharos of Alexandria, in Egypt. It was built by Ptolemy Philadelphia, about 720 b.0., on a small island at the entrance to the harbour, connected by a causeway with the mainland. _ Mr. H. J. Shepstonc, in an article in the Millgate Monthly," Bays «Th© Pharos cost 800 talents; if these were silver talents —as most likely they were—that would bo equal to £170,000, the largest sum ever expended upon a single lighthouso. lho structure had a base of some 400 ft., and towered 450 ft. above sea-level. As tlio whole was built of white marble, the edifice must have been at onco elegant and impressive. At tlio summit, fires wore kept burning to direct the mariner through tho tortuous entranco to the bay. It is recorded by some of the ancients that the flamo of the Pharos could be discerned 100 miles at sea. This, of course, is an exaggeration' as tho most up-to-date light of modern times, with all the latest inventions for increasing its intensity, is only visible thirty miles ,out. It is doubtful if tlio smokv gleams of tho ancient Pharos wero seen twenty or twenty-live iniles on a clear night. The Pomans built many lighthouses, and it is said that several oxccoded in splendour and magnificence the famous Pharos." But there aro none of thom now, so we must take their reported cxcellencos more or less on trust. ®