This One-of-a-Kind Bronze Ring Offers a Tantalizing Glimpse at the Lighthouse of Alexandria, a Lost Wonder of the Ancient World

In ancient times, travelers journeying to Egypt via the Mediterranean Sea often faced perilous conditions. As the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote in the first century B.C.E., a sandbank extended along much of the kingdom’s northern coast, “not discernible to any who approach without previous experience of these waters.” Sailors who “in their ignorance turn with gladness toward the shore suffer unexpected shipwreck when their vessels suddenly run aground,” Diodorus added, “and now and then, mariners who cannot see land in time because the country lies so low are cast ashore before they realize it.” The only “safe harbor” to be found on this stretch of coastline, the historian concluded, was Pharos, the island that housed the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Standing an estimated 330 to 430 feet tall, the lighthouse was also known as Pharos, after the land where it stood.

At the time of its creation in the third century B.C.E., it was one of the world’s tallest humanmade structures, second only to the Pyramids of Giza. The lighthouse dominated the landscape for more than a millennium, until the 14th century C.E., when it crumbled into the sea following a series of earthquakes. Some 700 years later, few traces of the lighthouse remain.

But excavations on the neighboring island of Antirhodos, the site of an ancient palace that hosted the likes of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, have revealed a rare artifact linked to this lost wonder: a bronze signet ring depicting Pharos. The ring is the “first of its kind known to exist,” the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM) notes in a statement. Its design bears resemblance to portrayals of the lighthouse on Egyptian coins from the second century C.E.

As archaeologist Isabelle Hairy writes for the Center for Alexandrian Studies, ancient currency offers “the most important documentary evidence” of Pharos’ appearance, suggesting that it had three tiers, including a square base, an octagonal middle section and a circular top. (Ancient writers left behind descriptions of the lighthouse, but these accounts are often conflicting, resulting in varying visual interpretations by later artists.) Need to know: Wonders of the ancient world Researchers from the institute recovered the ring as part of a joint archaeological mission with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. According to a Facebook post shared by the ministry, archaeologists at the site have also found tableware, amphorae, oil lamps and fragments of glassware spanning the fourth century B.C.E. through the fourth century C.E. The Greek geographer Strabo, who visited Alexandria in the first century B.C.E., described Antirhodos as “an isle lying off the artificial harbor, which has both a royal palace and a small harbor.” Its name, he added, was an allusion to its status as “a rival” of the Greek island of Rhodes.

For now, much about the ring remains unknown. In ancient Egypt, bureaucrats used signet rings to sign legal documents; the pricey accessories also advertised their owners’ elite social status. Construction of the lighthouse probably began during the reign of Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian general of Alexander the Great who served as Egypt’s first Ptolemaic king, and wrapped up under his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus, who succeeded him upon his death in 282 B.C.E.

The Greek architect Sostratus of Cnidos designed the revolutionary structure, which is often described as the world’s first recorded lighthouse. Today, physical evidence of Pharos is limited largely to stone blocks and metal clamps used to bind these blocks together. Although Hairy estimates that the work is “still generations from completion,” per the Times, the project’s findings are poised to transform historians’ understanding of the fabled lighthouse.