The scientific study of lighthouses and signal lights, as well as their construction and illumination, is called pharology. Those who study or who are enthused or fascinated by lighthouses are known as pharologists (also sometimes colloquially called pharophiles). The names stem from the classical Latin or ancient Greek word Pharos, meaning lighthouse.
|
The first true lighthouse was Egypt’s Pharos of Alexandria, built in the third century BC. The lighthouse consisted of a fire on top of multi-layered platforms to mark the port entrance. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was the tallest man-made structure on Earth for many centuries (with the exception of the Great Pyramid of Gisa).
|
The first lighthouse to be built in South Africa was the Green Point Lighthouse, which was commissioned on the 12th of April 1824. It was certified as a provincial heritage site in 1973, and it is still operational today. Many people mistakenly refer to it as the Mouille Point Lighthouse, but that name belongs to a different structure which was built near Granger Bay a few years later.
|
The lighthouse in South Africa with highest focal plane (i.e. height above sea level) is Cape Seal, located on the Robberg peninsular near Plettenberg Bay. It has a lofty height of 143 meters above the high-water mark. Next in line is Cooper Lighthouse, located on the Bluff near Durban (133 meters), followed by Cape St. Lucia (113 meters).
|
When Google decided to map certain hiking trails using their 360-degree “Street View” photograph technology, some of the routes on the Cape Point peninsular were included. Whilst doing so, they inadvertently captured a remarkably clear image of a UFO flying over a mountain near the “old” Cape Point Lighthouse. Unfortunately, this particular “bubble” was removed a couple of years later and is no longer visible (to the consternation of UFO conspiracy theorists), but there are plenty of websites on the internet which recorded it before it was deleted, and it is easy to search for. Make of this what you will!
|
For those that really want to get away from it all, living in an old lighthouse may be what your soul is seeking. The USA federal government has been giving away, for free, historic but unused lighthouses to non-profit, community development or educational organizations. The lighthouses that cannot find a loving NPO to care for them are auctioned off to the highest bidder.
|
Although it would seem to be logical, very few people know that the Statue of Liberty, perched on a massive granite pedestal in New York harbor, was used as a lighthouse for 16 years. The lantern, which was placed in the torch held in her right hand, proved to be ineffective, however, and the statue was officially discontinued as a lighthouse on the 1st of March 1902.
|