It sounds like pure archaeology, but it also feels oddly current. What happens when a famous monument is sitting on the seafloor while the sea around it warms and rises?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lost wonder surfaces in 22 pieces<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The newly recovered stones include elements of a monumental entrance, such as lintels, jambs, and a threshold, plus large base slabs. Some individual pieces weigh roughly 154,000 to 176,000 pounds (around 77 to 88 U.S. tons), which helps explain why lifting them is such a big deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read More: What they observed over the course of 90 minutes in the branches of a tree in the midst of a storm seems straight out of a science-fiction novel: 41 ultraviolet flashes invisible to the human eye and a major unanswered mystery<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nResearchers also say the haul includes parts of a previously unrecognized structure described as a pylon with an Egyptian-style door made using Greek construction techniques. It is a small detail with a big payoff because it hints at how blended and international Hellenistic Alexandria really was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Built around 280 BCE during the Ptolemaic era and described as more than 350 feet tall, the lighthouse guided ships into Alexandria until earthquakes and later stone quarrying helped erase it. By the late 1400s, the citadel of Q\u0101\u02beit B\u0101y was being built from its ruins on the same site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Stone](\"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/alexandria-lighthouse-stone-blocks-qaitbay-citadel.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Recovered blocks from the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria sit near Qaitbay Citadel, where the lost wonder once guided ships.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nA digital twin built from photogrammetry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
After the blocks are documented and processed with photogrammetry, the resulting 3D models are shared with volunteer engineers supported by La Fondation Dassault Syst\u00e8mes. The foundation compares the work to a \u201cgiant archaeological puzzle,\u201d where each block has to be analyzed and virtually put back in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nRead More: Between 1997 and 2006, the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands launched an operation that was as extreme as it was surprising to save their giant tortoises: they removed more than 140,000 invasive goats using helicopters, GPS, and a strategy that was as unusual as it was controversial<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nThis is not starting from zero. The CNRS and its partners say more than 100 blocks were already digitized underwater over the past decade, and CEAlex reports that by early 2020 it had created 154 digital duplicates of blocks or fragments for virtual reconstructions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In practical terms, a digital twin can do more than make a striking image for a museum wall. It can let teams test competing ideas about how the lighthouse was built and why it collapsed, without repeatedly moving fragile, heavy material in a busy harbor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An ancient city under modern waves<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
For centuries, parts of ancient Alexandria have been submerged, with some ruins lying about 20 to 26 feet underwater. CEAlex estimates the lighthouse site covers about 4 acres, with the broader submerged zone around the fort reaching closer to 7 acres. It is packed with architectural blocks, fragments, and stone statuary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working conditions have never been easy. French underwater archaeology teams describe murky waters that reduce visibility, and they note that a wave protection project in 1993 dropped hundreds of concrete blocks near Qaitbay Citadel, complicating access and threatening nearby remains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even so, divers and archaeologists have identified almost 3,500 architectural items in the area, including colossal statues, obelisks, and sphinxes. That catalog matters for history, but it also shows something else -the seafloor here is an archive<\/a> sitting inside a living coastal system.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Mediterranean is rich and stressed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Mediterranean Sea is famous for its biodiversity, and UNEP says it is home to more than 17,000 marine species<\/a>, with 20 to 30% of them found nowhere else. In other words, even a small stretch of coast can hold an outsized share of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBut this is also one of the most pressured seas on Earth. UNEP estimates the Mediterranean is polluted by about 805 U.S. tons of plastic waste<\/a> every day, and plastics make up most floating litter. In some locations, UNEP reports sea surface microplastic <\/a>concentrations above about 160 million floating particles per square mile.<\/p>\n\n\n\nClimate adds another layer. UNEP reports that the Mediterranean region is warming 20% faster than the global average<\/a>, which is the kind of trend you can feel when summers get stickier and heat waves last longer, even if you live far from the shore.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRising seas and sinking ground raise the stakes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Globally, sea level <\/a>is already rising, and the IPCC reports an increase of about 8 inches between 1901 and 2018. The same assessment shows the rate has accelerated in recent decades, a key reason coastal flooding risks are climbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAlexandria has its own local twist. CEAlex notes that the lighthouse site sank along with its ruins due to subsidence that has affected Alexandria\u2019s coasts since antiquity, and when sinking land<\/a> meets rising water, relative sea level can effectively jump<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRead More: Scientists have succeeded in reactivating a mouse’s hippocampus after freezing and thawing it<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nUNEP warns that Mediterranean coastal zones face heightened disaster risks, including flooding and erosion, plus salinization of river deltas and aquifers that support livelihoods. So yes, this is about an ancient lighthouse, but it is also about the modern coastline that surrounds it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What happens next for the PHAROS program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A digital twin built from photogrammetry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
After the blocks are documented and processed with photogrammetry, the resulting 3D models are shared with volunteer engineers supported by La Fondation Dassault Syst\u00e8mes. The foundation compares the work to a \u201cgiant archaeological puzzle,\u201d where each block has to be analyzed and virtually put back in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read More: Between 1997 and 2006, the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands launched an operation that was as extreme as it was surprising to save their giant tortoises: they removed more than 140,000 invasive goats using helicopters, GPS, and a strategy that was as unusual as it was controversial<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nThis is not starting from zero. The CNRS and its partners say more than 100 blocks were already digitized underwater over the past decade, and CEAlex reports that by early 2020 it had created 154 digital duplicates of blocks or fragments for virtual reconstructions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In practical terms, a digital twin can do more than make a striking image for a museum wall. It can let teams test competing ideas about how the lighthouse was built and why it collapsed, without repeatedly moving fragile, heavy material in a busy harbor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An ancient city under modern waves<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
For centuries, parts of ancient Alexandria have been submerged, with some ruins lying about 20 to 26 feet underwater. CEAlex estimates the lighthouse site covers about 4 acres, with the broader submerged zone around the fort reaching closer to 7 acres. It is packed with architectural blocks, fragments, and stone statuary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working conditions have never been easy. French underwater archaeology teams describe murky waters that reduce visibility, and they note that a wave protection project in 1993 dropped hundreds of concrete blocks near Qaitbay Citadel, complicating access and threatening nearby remains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even so, divers and archaeologists have identified almost 3,500 architectural items in the area, including colossal statues, obelisks, and sphinxes. That catalog matters for history, but it also shows something else -the seafloor here is an archive<\/a> sitting inside a living coastal system.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Mediterranean is rich and stressed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Mediterranean Sea is famous for its biodiversity, and UNEP says it is home to more than 17,000 marine species<\/a>, with 20 to 30% of them found nowhere else. In other words, even a small stretch of coast can hold an outsized share of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBut this is also one of the most pressured seas on Earth. UNEP estimates the Mediterranean is polluted by about 805 U.S. tons of plastic waste<\/a> every day, and plastics make up most floating litter. In some locations, UNEP reports sea surface microplastic <\/a>concentrations above about 160 million floating particles per square mile.<\/p>\n\n\n\nClimate adds another layer. UNEP reports that the Mediterranean region is warming 20% faster than the global average<\/a>, which is the kind of trend you can feel when summers get stickier and heat waves last longer, even if you live far from the shore.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRising seas and sinking ground raise the stakes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Globally, sea level <\/a>is already rising, and the IPCC reports an increase of about 8 inches between 1901 and 2018. The same assessment shows the rate has accelerated in recent decades, a key reason coastal flooding risks are climbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAlexandria has its own local twist. CEAlex notes that the lighthouse site sank along with its ruins due to subsidence that has affected Alexandria\u2019s coasts since antiquity, and when sinking land<\/a> meets rising water, relative sea level can effectively jump<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRead More: Scientists have succeeded in reactivating a mouse’s hippocampus after freezing and thawing it<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nUNEP warns that Mediterranean coastal zones face heightened disaster risks, including flooding and erosion, plus salinization of river deltas and aquifers that support livelihoods. So yes, this is about an ancient lighthouse, but it is also about the modern coastline that surrounds it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What happens next for the PHAROS program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Mediterranean is rich and stressed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Mediterranean Sea is famous for its biodiversity, and UNEP says it is home to more than 17,000 marine species<\/a>, with 20 to 30% of them found nowhere else. In other words, even a small stretch of coast can hold an outsized share of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But this is also one of the most pressured seas on Earth. UNEP estimates the Mediterranean is polluted by about 805 U.S. tons of plastic waste<\/a> every day, and plastics make up most floating litter. In some locations, UNEP reports sea surface microplastic <\/a>concentrations above about 160 million floating particles per square mile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Climate adds another layer. UNEP reports that the Mediterranean region is warming 20% faster than the global average<\/a>, which is the kind of trend you can feel when summers get stickier and heat waves last longer, even if you live far from the shore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Globally, sea level <\/a>is already rising, and the IPCC reports an increase of about 8 inches between 1901 and 2018. The same assessment shows the rate has accelerated in recent decades, a key reason coastal flooding risks are climbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alexandria has its own local twist. CEAlex notes that the lighthouse site sank along with its ruins due to subsidence that has affected Alexandria\u2019s coasts since antiquity, and when sinking land<\/a> meets rising water, relative sea level can effectively jump<\/p>\n\n\n\n UNEP warns that Mediterranean coastal zones face heightened disaster risks, including flooding and erosion, plus salinization of river deltas and aquifers that support livelihoods. So yes, this is about an ancient lighthouse, but it is also about the modern coastline that surrounds it.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRising seas and sinking ground raise the stakes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Read More: Scientists have succeeded in reactivating a mouse’s hippocampus after freezing and thawing it<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
What happens next for the PHAROS program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n