2,000-year-old lighthouse reconstructed in Patara ancient city

ANTALYA

The construction of the lighthouse, which was built by the Roman Emperor Nero and was destroyed in a tsunami in 1481, continues in the ancient city of Patara in the southern province of Antalya.

The 26.5-meter-high lighthouse, which was built by the Roman Emperor Nero in 64 A.D. in the ancient city of Patara located in the Kaş district, and was completely destroyed by the tsunami in 1481, is being reconstructed within the scope of the work tendered by Antalya Governor’s Office.

During the construction works, 2,500 stones unearthed during the excavations were X-rayed, and their original locations were determined one by one. Thus, the two-millenarian lighthouse is reconstructed with 85 percent of its own original stones.

On the lighthouse, there is a metal-lettered inscription containing the date of construction and by whom it was built. In another inscription unearthed during the excavations, the Patara Assembly and the people of Patara addressed Sextus Marcius, the governor of the period, which read: “Thank you for ruling the Lycian people justly for eight years and for decorating our city with beautiful structures.”

The dolphin-embossed stone, which was previously buried in the ground, was placed back to where it was in the lighthouse last year.

The head of the excavation works, Prof. Dr. Havva İşkan Işık, announced that their work is finally completed and that the last stone of the Patara Lighthouse has been put into its place.