Q 01/05

The most famous lighthouse of antiquity, one of the Seven Wonders, stood at which city?

A) Rhodes

B) Alexandria

C) Carthage

D) Ostia

Answer · why

B) Alexandria

The Pharos was finished under Ptolemy II and was at least 100 metres tall; earthquakes between 956 and 1323 reduced it to ruins.

Q 02/05

What was built on the site of the ruined Pharos in 1480, using its last stones?

A) A mosque

B) A Venetian trading post

C) The Citadel of Qaitbay

D) A Ptolemaic temple replica

Answer · why

C) The Citadel of Qaitbay

The Pharos was the third longest-surviving ancient wonder, outlasted only by the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Great Pyramid.

Q 03/05

The Tower of Hercules, the oldest known Roman lighthouse still standing, is in which country?

A) Spain

B) Italy

C) Portugal

D) France

Answer · why

A) Spain

It overlooks the Atlantic at A Coruña, has been in use since the 2nd century and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009.

Q 04/05

Which Irish lighthouse built by William Marshal is the world's second-oldest still operating?

A) Fastnet Rock

B) Baily

C) Loop Head

D) Hook Head

Answer · why

D) Hook Head

Its first custodians were monks, and tradition says the missionary Dubhán kept a beacon on the headland as early as the 5th century.

Q 05/05

The Kõpu Lighthouse, in continuous use since 1531, stands on an island belonging to which country?

A) Finland

B) Denmark

C) Estonia

D) Sweden

Answer · why

C) Estonia

It sits on the highest hill of Hiiumaa island and was once known by the Swedish name Övre Dagerort.