Original image of Pharos Lighthouse by Prof. H. Thiersch
When the hiding place on the shelves of the Great Library become perilous, Thomas Addison gives the scroll to his son, asking him to hide it at the base of the Pharos Lighthouse. This structure, probably the tallest structure in the world at the time, rising as high as one hundred meters, was built by the Ptolomic Kingdom in the 3rd century BC. The stone structure served as a lighthouse to the harbor, surviving until it was damaged by several earthquakes between 956 and 1323.
The Citadel of 
Qaitbay, built in 1480, rests on a foundation of stone from the lighthouse. Addison carries the Alchimeia scroll through the street fighting as Aurelius puts down Queen Zenubia’s revolt, hiding in a crypt within the lighthouse foundation. The lighthouse did indeed exist and you can walk the streets of Alexandria and see the citadel today. But don’t go lifting floor stones looking for an entrance to the crypt! This is fiction, after all.
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