History & Heritage
A bronze ring shows Alexandria's lost lighthouse
Underwater archaeologists in Egypt announced on October 7, 2026, that they had found a seal ring showing the ancient lighthouse.
Underwater archaeologists in Egypt have found a bronze ring that shows the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria. The European Institute for Underwater Archaeology, known as IEASM, announced the discovery on October 7, 2026. According to the institute, it is the first ring of its kind that is known to exist.
The ring was found in Alexandria's eastern harbor, where a royal palace once stood on an island called Antirhodos. Today the island lies under the sea, and the remains of its buildings cover several thousand square meters. The Greek geographer Strabo saw this palace when he visited Egypt between 29 and 25 BC. Franck Goddio, the president of IEASM, says the find is even more important because the palace was once a center of power.
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An object with a design on it that is pressed into soft wax or clay to show that a document is official.
IEASM says the ring is a seal that was clearly used by an administrator of the lighthouse.