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History of Lighthouses
The history of lighthouses starts with
the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans but the Mayans also
had lighthouses dating back to the 13th century. The Egyptians built
the tallest lighthouse that was ever built and it stood 900 ft high
and showed sailors the way for 1,500 years.
The
greatest danger to ships at sea occur when they are near the sea coast -
deceitful changes of depth in the form of reefs, shallows, shoals can
destroy a ship very fast. An uncounted number of ships, often with very
valuable cargo fell victim to such dangers and thousands of seamen lost
their lives.
Even
in modern times one of the most predominant reasons for such
accidents is the inaccurate determination of the ship's position.
Therefore, from the very beginning of sea travel, man tried his
utmost to determine every point on the sea coast which could be
helpful in searching for and recognizing the proper direction. At
night, only visible luminous signs can be seen in the dark.
 In
ancient Egypt, priests set alight the first fires so as to show
seafarers safe routes. It is probable that the first fires were lit only
when a ship was due. There exists a script from the year 600 BC
describing the lighthouse at Sigeum -presently Cape Inchisari in Turkey.
However, the first permanent fires, the existence of which we know with
all certainty is ihe fire burnt at the entrance to Piraeus - the ancient
port of Athens, in the year 400 BC. The fires were burnt on specially
constructed columns. Similar fires were to be found in Munychia.
The
oldest known marine lighthouse is the one built by the Egyptians in
the year 300 BC in the Nile delta, on the island of Faros in
Alexandria - the centre of travel between the East and the West. It
was a monumental construction with an amazing for that era height of
over 100 m. Its construction took 17 years and was built by
Sostratos from Knidos. This beautiful construction must have made a
great impression on people of all ages because "Faros" is considered
to be one of the "seven wonders of the world". It was destroyed
around the year 1600 AD during an earthquake.
It
left its mark for the future in Romanesque languages, where the
description of something "coming later" in French is "phare", in
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese is "faro".
A
detailed description of the lighthouse was conveyed for posterity by
the Arab writers and geographers: Abu Abdallach Mohammed ben
Mohammed el Edrisi (1099-1164), Albufeda (1273-1331) and Ibn Battuta
who in 1349 inspected the lighthouse "already in such great
disrepair that it was impossible to climb up to the doors or to
enter it". There is nothing left of this lighthouse now, not even
the slightest sign of any ruins.
The
oldest lighthouses in Western Europe were built in the 1st Century
AD by the Romans in Dover, England and in Boulogne-sur-Mer. At this
time the famous lighthouses of Ostia and Centum Cellae (present
Civita Vecchia) also existed. Along with the fall of the Roman
Empire the development of sea travel was curtailed. This also caused
the closing down of lighthouses for many centuries.
Lighthouses
appeared again on sea coasts towards the end of the first
millennium. The lighthouse at Cordouan built probably on the order
of Emperor Charlemagne is one of the oldest. On the Baltic Coast,
light from the lighthouse called the volcano pot, was lit in Slavic
Wolin. This was in the 10th Century AD. From the beginning of the
second millennium, lighthouses more and more frequently directed
sailors in their sea voyagers. Lighthouses were then built in Genoa,
Falsterbo, Travemunde. Towards the end of the 17th Century seven
lighthouses were in operation in the region of the Baltic Sea, the
North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
 At
the beginning of the 19th Century, lighthouses were to be found on all
important sea routes. In the middle of this century their number was in
the region of several thousand..
The
most ancient source of light was wood. Only in the Middle Ages, when the
art of glass making was perfected was wood replaced by wax candles
(later by tallow and stearic). Coal was also used as a source of light
at this time. Vegetable and mineral oil was first used as a source of
light in lighthouses at the turn of the 18th Century. Soon after, coal
gas and propane gas was also introduced. Already, in the middle of the
19th Century there were tests carried out on the application of
electricity as a source of light in lighthouses. This last source turned
out to be the most efficient. Perfected, it is used to the present day.
Even
in this day of satellite navigation, just as in ancient times,
lighthouses play an important role in navigation and in the
assurance of safety at sea. They also are permanent monuments to
history and technology and due to their unique character are tourist
attractions carrying a large dose of marine romance. [...]
Source:
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http://www.latarnie.com.pl/latarnie/latarnie_wstep_ang.html
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