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Undersea Archaeologists Recover the Only Known Ring Engraved With the Lighthouse of Alexandria

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Undersea Archaeologists Recover the Only Known Ring Engraved With the Lighthouse of Alexandria

The entire island of Antirhodos, off the northern coast of Egypt and home to the royal seat of the ancient city of Alexandria’s Portus Magnus (“Great Harbor”), sank beneath the waves in 365 CE. For over 1,630 years, this imperial outpost and its treasures remained lost, if not forgotten, consumed by a tsunami that emanated from the monstrous July 21, 365 CE, earthquake that ravaged the nearby Mediterranean island of Crete.

Antirhodos’ rediscovery by French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio in 1996 has now yielded another priceless marvel from antiquity: A joint team from the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM) and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has pulled a signet ring cast in bronze from the sunken rubble of the royal palace in Portus Magnus. The ring is engraved with the city’s iconic Lighthouse of Alexandria—the towering Pharos lighthouse, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, which may have once reached as high as 348 feet (106 meters) tall.

According to a statement from IEASM, as reported by The Art Newspaper, the Pharos signet was likely used to make official notary impressions onto soft wax or clay seals. The bronze ring is reportedly the only one of its kind currently known.

“The discovery of the ring-signet is even more important as it has been excavated in the legendary palace of the Island of Antirhodos, that once was a centre of power,” Goddio said in a statement.



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