The reassembly of Khufu’s Second Boat has officially begun at the Grand Egyptian Museum. 📺 Moving & Reassembly of Khufu’s Second Boat youtube.com/watch?v=6at_AA9r…

The Egyptian-Italian mission in Aswan uncovered Graeco-Roman rock-cut tombs with well-preserved hieroglyphs near the Aga Khan Mausoleum. The find offers key insights into funerary practices & religious symbolism in late ancient Egypt. #Aswan #Egyptology #Archaeology #AncientEgypt

An international archaeological mission, spearheaded by Isabelle Hairy of France’s CNRS under Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, has successfully recovered 22 colossal stone blocks from the submerged remains of the ancient Lighthouse (Pharos) in Alexandria’s Eastern Harbor (labrujulaverde.com). Weighing between 70 and 80 tons, these blocks include the lintels and uprights of the lighthouse’s grand entrance, foundational slabs, and a previously unknown pylon combining Egyptian design with Greek engineering. These monumental blocks are destined for high-resolution 3D photogrammetric scanning as part of the “PHAROS” project—a collaboration between CNRS/CEAlex and France’s Dassault Systèmes Foundation. They will be digitally reconstructed to test architectural hypotheses on the lighthouse’s original construction and causes of its collapse. Having previously digitized over a hundred underwater fragments, this latest find deepens our understanding of the ancient structure and helps fill crucial gaps in its architectural narrative. • Recovering One of the Seven Wonders: The Lighthouse of Alexandria was a landmark of ancient maritime innovation. No other major lighthouse of antiquity remains; this digital rebirth offers a rare opportunity to virtually “restore” a world marvel lost to earthquakes and centuries of quarrying. • Insights into Ancient Engineering: The recovered lintels, jambs, and base pieces can help scholars unravel 3rd Century BC, Ptolemaic construction techniques and structural composition through virtual testing. • Cultural Symbolism: Beyond aiding navigation, the lighthouse represented Alexandria’s power, technological mastery, and fusion of Hellenistic-Egyptian culture. Reconstructing it reawakens a symbol that shaped Mediterranean intellectual and trading networks. Founded in 332 BC by Alexander the Great and developed under the Ptolemies—Alexander’s successors—Alexandria stood as a beacon of Hellenistic civilization. The Pharos, commissioned during the reign of Ptolemy I and completed under Ptolemy II Philadelphus, was both functional and symbolic: a towering fusion of Greek engineering and Egyptian tradition. Rising well over 100m, the lighthouse was a marvel of its time—often likened to the world’s first skyscraper. It helped guide ships safely into Alexandria’s harbor, underpinning its status as a global center for trade, scholarship, and culture. The structure’s tripartite design—square at the base, octagonal in the middle, cylindrical above—is a testament to Hellenistic architectural brilliance. Traditional accounts credit Sostratus of Cnidus, a Greek engineer, signaling continuity of classical architectural patterns in Egypt. Standing for more than 1,600 years, the lighthouse endured and adapted through multiple earthquakes before ultimately collapsing in 14th Century. Its stones later formed the Qaitbay Fortress, but its legacy remained central to Alexandria’s identity. • Future Outlook Educational Outreach: A documentary produced by GEDEON Programmes, slated for broadcast on France Télévisions, will chronicle the recovery and reconstruction process in a 90-minute feature. • Academic and Public Engagement: Through digital models, historians and engineers will re-examine hypotheses on design and collapse scenarios. The end goal? A virtual twin that could form the basis for interactive exhibits, educational tools, and perhaps future physical reconstructions. • Underwater Heritage Preservation: This operation builds on a continuum of work stretching back to Jean‑Yves Empereur’s 1994 discovery and adds momentum to Alexandria’s transformation into a center for submerged cultural tourism. 📷 : Blocks recovered from the sea of the Alexandria Lighthouse. (📷© GEDEON Programmes / CEAlex) © The Archaeologist #archaeohistories