Thanks to the Lighthouses!

Many years ago, people decided to explore the waters by boat. During the day they could find their way back to the landing place by looking for a pile of rocks that had been left there. These were the first daymarks. But how could they find their way back at night? Since much of the shoreline looked very similar, friend had to light a bonfire on a high point to guide them to the right landing area. Still later they used a tripod to hang a metal basket containing a fire as a method of signaling

Our first lighthouses were actually given to us by Nature herself. Sailors sometimes used landmarks such as glowing volcanoes to guide them. In the Ancient World, trading ships were eventually built enabling navigators to sail long distances to buy and sell goods. In the days of wooden ships with sails, the wind and waves could easily push them against the rocks and wreck them. An so, the need for lighthouses as warning signals arose.

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was a lighthouse – the famous Pharos of Alexandria, Egypt. It is the first one that is recorded in history and was built about 280 B.C. Those records tell us that it was the tallest one ever built-450ft. (comparable to a 45 story skyscraper) and used an open fire at the top as a source of light.
The fantastic building survived for more than 1500 years until it was completely destroyed by an earthquake in the 14th Century.

Today most lighthouses have being automated with modern lightening and controls. But even so, many of these fine buildings are no longer needed because of advances in ship technology.

But let’s keep them as a memory of our history. Many of them tell us their stories in thousands of books published by authors of all languages.