4 ms·

Stone blocks from the Lighthouse of Alexandria recovered from seafloor

130 points by gnabgib 1y ago

dang 1y ago
We changed the URL from https://greekreporter.com/2025/07/01/lighthouse-alexandria-giant-blocks-resurface/ https://greekreporter.com/2025/07/01/lighthouse-alexandria-g... to an article that it appears to have been cribbed from, although it's not entirely clear.
dang 1y ago
[stub for offtopicness] [original URL was https://greekreporter.com/2025/07/01/lighthouse-alexandria-giant-blocks-resurface/ https://greekreporter.com/2025/07/01/lighthouse-alexandria-g... - see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44598029 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44598029]
- lapetitejort 1y ago
  > Interpretation of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Credit: Midjounrey / Open Domain / Free Use In addition to not paying artists for interpretations, they also apparently do not pay editors to proofread.
  - richwater 1y ago
    A human artist rendering would not have changed how anyone consumes this article. In fact it may even be less realistic given how artists are not experts in every field and more often than not take wide liberties (see dinosaurs)
    - IncreasePosts 1y ago
      I think they're commenting on "Midjounrey"
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
    - nkrisc 1y ago
      If you care, you can hire an artist and a subject matter expert to collaborate and produce accurate (to current scientific knowledge) renderings. Or even an artist who has prior experience creating accurate renderings from archeological data. If you care.
- jaysonelliot 1y ago
  Using Midjourney to visualize a historical structure like this is not just lazy, it's very misleading. Especially when there are actual digital recreations, available for free use under Creative Commons, based on historical information and modern surveys: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PHAROS2013-3000x2250.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PHAROS2013-3000x2250...
  - IG_Semmelweiss 1y ago
    I dont understand your comment Your comment implies that (some) article images are somehow the result of LLMs. I don't think that is the case at all based on the articles' source attributions.
    - alexey-salmin 1y ago
      Check the original article link posted above
dr_dshiv 1y ago
It was the tallest building in the world? And it survived till the 1300s?? Wild.
- pgreenwood 1y ago
  This seems like an odd error for the article to make. The great pyramid in Giza is nearly 50% taller, was built nearly 2500 years earlier, and still stands today.
  - hansvm 1y ago
    A pyramid stretches the limits of what it means to be a "building" though. I don't know that it's a crazy thing to ignore it.
    - adolph 1y ago
      Why does it “stretch the limits of what it means to be a building?” As far as I understand, the Giza pyramid was built block by block like any other building. Both building probably didn’t many people going to the office every day in them, although the lighthouse probably had some light keepers enjoying a better view than folks keeping the triangle gods happy.
      - photonthug 1y ago
        It's about what you define as "free standing" i.e. self supporting, which at least means no wire anchors, but arguably also means no pyramids because they are a sort of refined mound, no ziggurats, no cheating by excavating around mountains and putting a cap on it
      - hansvm 1y ago
        The aquaducts and viae were built block by block too, but they're, I hope we agree, clearly not buildings. In my mind at least, the pyramids are too close to not having an inside relative to how big the outside is -- like how you wouldn't call a mine or a tunnel a building either. Words are fuzzy concepts meant to convey ideas. Etymologically, I imagine the pyramids are "buildings" in that they're things that are built, like you're describing, but in my internal idea of what a building is, pyramids are too close to just being a carefully shaped mountain. There's also the issue of the fact that they weren't designed for _any_ living person to stay or visit, pushing it closer to a "monument" or "memorial" or something than a "building" in my mind. Interestingly, if there were more internal space or if they were actively used by people (at any point in history) instead of just being left to the dead in the sands of time then it'd be a lot less clear-cut for me. I'm not totally sure how other people use that word, but a (obviously biased) survey of the top 10 people I knew would care and respond quickly unanimously called the pyramids of giza "not buildings," the most common alternative description being a "monument."
echelon_musk 1y ago
Seems like there's a gulf between the artist's computer rendering and the mosaic.
- ekaryotic 1y ago
  i dare say archaeologists have multiple depictions of the lighthouse, considering how famous it was.
- aaron695 1y ago
  [dead]
- jaysonelliot 1y ago
  It wasn't a rendering by an artist, it's just an autogenerated Midjourney image.
  - wolfd 1y ago
    Are you talking about the 3D rendering in the article? The source is linked, and it was uploaded to Wikimedia in 2013. Edit: Oh! I see, the article URL was changed after you made your comment and before I made mine.
m3kw9 1y ago
Was the point of light houses to attract trade?
- foobar1962 1y ago
  To help ships navigate. Being 100 meters tall it would be visible from quite a distance off shore, something like 36km or 22 miles, before land itself could be seen. > The Lighthouse, or Pharos of Alexandria... stood more than 100 meters tall above the island of Pharos, guiding ships safely through Alexandria’s treacherous coastal waters Note that making navigation safer would also benefit trade. Given the choice of landing in a port that was difficult to find and one that had such a lighthouse as a guide...
  - mcmoor 1y ago
    It's only a 1 bit signal that says "don't come here" isn't it? I've seen claims that lighthouse helps ships somehow navigate difficult waves and I'm always curious how exactly one high lamp do that. Saying that it "guides" is a bit of an overstatement isn't it? Like saying that a road sign saying "dangerous hole here" guides riders navigate the road.
    - stockresearcher 1y ago
      A lighthouse is in a known location and has a known height. It allows you to identify your present location with great accuracy - the horizontal angle gives direction and the vertical angle gives distance. If you know your location you can do a much better job of avoiding known hazards.
      - mcmoor 1y ago
        Thanks! I didn't think about that dimension. The information resolution still feels a bit too low for my liking (I thought it'd help a ship zigzag with precision), but I guess it's much much better than none. I just realized that if there's 3 of them, it'd constitute an ancient GPS isn't it. Or even only two?
dochne 1y ago
One place I would love to visit is the Tower of Hercules which was built in the first century and based on the original plans of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Hercules https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Hercules
evolve2k 1y ago
This being to mind the open source game 0AD (https://play0ad.com https://play0ad.com). I could be misremembering but I’m pretty sure the lighthouse is one of the wonders you can build in the game. Check it out if you’ve never given it a go. Built by a tonne of volunteers who aim for historically accurate soldiers and buildings in this Age of Empires like RTS game.

130 points by gnabgib 1y ago

dang 1y ago

We changed the URL from https://greekreporter.com/2025/07/01/lighthouse-alexandria-giant-blocks-resurface/ https://greekreporter.com/2025/07/01/lighthouse-alexandria-g... to an article that it appears to have been cribbed from, although it's not entirely clear.

dang 1y ago

[stub for offtopicness] [original URL was https://greekreporter.com/2025/07/01/lighthouse-alexandria-giant-blocks-resurface/ https://greekreporter.com/2025/07/01/lighthouse-alexandria-g... - see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44598029 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44598029]

lapetitejort 1y ago
> Interpretation of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Credit: Midjounrey / Open Domain / Free Use In addition to not paying artists for interpretations, they also apparently do not pay editors to proofread.
- richwater 1y ago
  A human artist rendering would not have changed how anyone consumes this article. In fact it may even be less realistic given how artists are not experts in every field and more often than not take wide liberties (see dinosaurs)
  - IncreasePosts 1y ago
    I think they're commenting on "Midjounrey"
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - nkrisc 1y ago
    If you care, you can hire an artist and a subject matter expert to collaborate and produce accurate (to current scientific knowledge) renderings. Or even an artist who has prior experience creating accurate renderings from archeological data. If you care.
jaysonelliot 1y ago
Using Midjourney to visualize a historical structure like this is not just lazy, it's very misleading. Especially when there are actual digital recreations, available for free use under Creative Commons, based on historical information and modern surveys: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PHAROS2013-3000x2250.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PHAROS2013-3000x2250...
- IG_Semmelweiss 1y ago
  I dont understand your comment Your comment implies that (some) article images are somehow the result of LLMs. I don't think that is the case at all based on the articles' source attributions.
  - alexey-salmin 1y ago
    Check the original article link posted above

dr_dshiv 1y ago

It was the tallest building in the world? And it survived till the 1300s?? Wild.

pgreenwood 1y ago
This seems like an odd error for the article to make. The great pyramid in Giza is nearly 50% taller, was built nearly 2500 years earlier, and still stands today.
- hansvm 1y ago
  A pyramid stretches the limits of what it means to be a "building" though. I don't know that it's a crazy thing to ignore it.
  - adolph 1y ago
    Why does it “stretch the limits of what it means to be a building?” As far as I understand, the Giza pyramid was built block by block like any other building. Both building probably didn’t many people going to the office every day in them, although the lighthouse probably had some light keepers enjoying a better view than folks keeping the triangle gods happy.
    - photonthug 1y ago
      It's about what you define as "free standing" i.e. self supporting, which at least means no wire anchors, but arguably also means no pyramids because they are a sort of refined mound, no ziggurats, no cheating by excavating around mountains and putting a cap on it
    - hansvm 1y ago
      The aquaducts and viae were built block by block too, but they're, I hope we agree, clearly not buildings. In my mind at least, the pyramids are too close to not having an inside relative to how big the outside is -- like how you wouldn't call a mine or a tunnel a building either. Words are fuzzy concepts meant to convey ideas. Etymologically, I imagine the pyramids are "buildings" in that they're things that are built, like you're describing, but in my internal idea of what a building is, pyramids are too close to just being a carefully shaped mountain. There's also the issue of the fact that they weren't designed for _any_ living person to stay or visit, pushing it closer to a "monument" or "memorial" or something than a "building" in my mind. Interestingly, if there were more internal space or if they were actively used by people (at any point in history) instead of just being left to the dead in the sands of time then it'd be a lot less clear-cut for me. I'm not totally sure how other people use that word, but a (obviously biased) survey of the top 10 people I knew would care and respond quickly unanimously called the pyramids of giza "not buildings," the most common alternative description being a "monument."

echelon_musk 1y ago

Seems like there's a gulf between the artist's computer rendering and the mosaic.

ekaryotic 1y ago
i dare say archaeologists have multiple depictions of the lighthouse, considering how famous it was.
aaron695 1y ago
[dead]
jaysonelliot 1y ago
It wasn't a rendering by an artist, it's just an autogenerated Midjourney image.
- wolfd 1y ago
  Are you talking about the 3D rendering in the article? The source is linked, and it was uploaded to Wikimedia in 2013. Edit: Oh! I see, the article URL was changed after you made your comment and before I made mine.

m3kw9 1y ago

Was the point of light houses to attract trade?

foobar1962 1y ago
To help ships navigate. Being 100 meters tall it would be visible from quite a distance off shore, something like 36km or 22 miles, before land itself could be seen. > The Lighthouse, or Pharos of Alexandria... stood more than 100 meters tall above the island of Pharos, guiding ships safely through Alexandria’s treacherous coastal waters Note that making navigation safer would also benefit trade. Given the choice of landing in a port that was difficult to find and one that had such a lighthouse as a guide...
- mcmoor 1y ago
  It's only a 1 bit signal that says "don't come here" isn't it? I've seen claims that lighthouse helps ships somehow navigate difficult waves and I'm always curious how exactly one high lamp do that. Saying that it "guides" is a bit of an overstatement isn't it? Like saying that a road sign saying "dangerous hole here" guides riders navigate the road.
  - stockresearcher 1y ago
    A lighthouse is in a known location and has a known height. It allows you to identify your present location with great accuracy - the horizontal angle gives direction and the vertical angle gives distance. If you know your location you can do a much better job of avoiding known hazards.
    - mcmoor 1y ago
      Thanks! I didn't think about that dimension. The information resolution still feels a bit too low for my liking (I thought it'd help a ship zigzag with precision), but I guess it's much much better than none. I just realized that if there's 3 of them, it'd constitute an ancient GPS isn't it. Or even only two?

dochne 1y ago

One place I would love to visit is the Tower of Hercules which was built in the first century and based on the original plans of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Hercules https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Hercules

evolve2k 1y ago

This being to mind the open source game 0AD (https://play0ad.com https://play0ad.com). I could be misremembering but I’m pretty sure the lighthouse is one of the wonders you can build in the game. Check it out if you’ve never given it a go. Built by a tonne of volunteers who aim for historically accurate soldiers and buildings in this Age of Empires like RTS game.