Editing Lighthouse of Alexandria (section)

==Archaeological research and rediscovery==
[[File:AlexLighthouse01.jpg|thumb|275px|Lighthouse remains found in the [[Mediterranean Sea]]]]
Gaston Jondet made the first detailed description of the submerged ruins of the old port of Alexandria in 1916. He was followed by [[Raymond Weill]] in the same year, and by Sir [[Leopold Halliday Savile]] in 1940.<ref>[http://www.ancientportsantiques.com/a-few-ports/alexandria-pharos-island/ Alexandria Pharos island]</ref><ref>[https://escholarship.org/content/qt9h10f4qf/qt9h10f4qf_noSplash_3376dcd0ed7bb96927ab96c113388f2a.pdf The Nile River Delta Coast and Alexandria Seaport, Egypt: A Brief Overview of History, Problems, and Mitigation]</ref>

In 1968, the lighthouse was rediscovered. [[UNESCO]] sponsored an expedition to send a team of marine [[archaeologists]], led by [[Honor Frost]], to the site. She confirmed the existence of ruins representing part of the lighthouse. Due to the lack of specialised archaeologists and the area becoming a military zone, exploration was put on hold.<ref>Frost, H. (2000). From Byblos to Pharos: some archaeological considerations. In N. Grimal, M. H. Mostafa, & D. Nakashima (Authors),&nbsp;''Underwater archaeology and coastal management: Focus on Alexandria''&nbsp;(pp. 64–68). Paris: UNESCO.</ref>

A team of French archaeologists led by [[Jean-Yves Empereur]] re-discovered the physical remains of the lighthouse in late 1994 on the floor of Alexandria's Eastern Harbour. He worked with cinematographer [[Asma El Bakry|Asma el-Bakri]] who used a 35&nbsp;mm camera to take the first underwater pictures of the scattered remains of collapsed columns and statues. Empereur's most significant findings consisted of blocks of granite 49–60 tonnes in mass often broken into multiple pieces, 30 [[sphinx]]es, 5 [[obelisk]]s and columns with carvings dating back to [[Ramesses II|Ramses II]] (1279–1213 BC).<ref name=":0"/>

The cataloguing of over 3,300 pieces was completed by Empereur and his team at the end of 1995 using a combination of photography and mapping. Thirty-six pieces of Empereur's granite blocks and other discoveries have been restored and are on display in Alexandria museums.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/raising-alexandria-151005550/|title=Raising Alexandria|last=Lawler|first=Andrew|website=Smithsonian|access-date=2019-04-29}}</ref> Satellite imaging has revealed further remains. In the early 1990s, the underwater archaeologist [[Franck Goddio]] began exploration at the opposite side of the harbour from where Empereur's team had worked.<ref name="Excavations in Alexandria">[[Franck Goddio]]'s [https://www.franckgoddio.org/projects/sunken-civilizations/alexandria.html/ Excavations in Alexandria] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927004211/https://www.franckgoddio.org/projects/sunken-civilizations/alexandria.html |date=September 27, 2021 }}</ref>

Satellite and sonar imaging has revealed the additional remains of wharves, houses and temples<ref name="Excavations in Alexandria"/> which had all fallen into the Mediterranean as a result of earthquakes and other natural disasters.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Boukhari|first=Sophie|date=February 1997|title=Swimming With Sphinxes|journal=UNESCO|volume=87}}</ref> It is possible to go diving and see the ruins. In 2012 the secretariat of the [[UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage]] was working with the [[Government of Egypt]] on an initiative to add the Bay of Alexandria (including the remains of the lighthouse) to a [[World Heritage List]] of submerged cultural sites.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/underwater-cultural-heritage/museums-and-tourism/ |title=Museums and Tourism – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |work=unesco.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110234435/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/underwater-cultural-heritage/museums-and-tourism |archive-date=November 10, 2012 }}</ref>{{clear left}}