Lighthouse of Alexandria belongs to the years before the Common Era — dated here to c. 280 BCE at Pharos island, Egypt. The date is a scholarly centre of gravity, not a foundation-stone timestamp.
Sostratus of Cnidus raised a three-tier tower whose fire and mirror made the Ptolemaic harbour a night mark for the whole eastern Mediterranean.
How it was made
Ancient estimates put the Pharos near 100 metres. A square base, octagon, and cylinder stacked like a machine for light.
Why it still counts as a wonder
It sits on the canonical Greek list of seven wonders of the ancient world — a tourist poster already in Hellenistic poetry.
Earthquakes from the 10th to 14th centuries CE finished it. Qaitbay’s fort sits on the site; underwater blocks still look like a fallen tower.
On dating
BCE in this series means years before the traditional birth of Christ, counted backward. A monument listed as c. 280 BCE may have been founded earlier, rebuilt later, or famous only in one phase. Where ancient writers disagree — as they do for Babylon’s gardens — we say so.
This is story 7 of 100 in The Trend Ledger’s illustrated desk on world wonders raised before the Common Era.