Founded in 322 B.C. by Alexander the Great, the beautiful town of Alexandria, Egypt is renowned as the backdrop for the love of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, but is even more famous for the extraordinary, almost revolutionary modernity of its town planning, its huge library and for its lighthouse—the seventh wonder of the ancient world. The lighthouse collapsed into the sea in 1477, following several earthquakes. Centuries later, in 1961, an Egyptian diver stumbled upon a collection of statues on the sea floor. Then in 1994, a salvage operation uncovered artifacts beyond their wildest dreams—including 2000 architectural blocks (some weighing 75 tons), columns, capitals, statues and many traces of the famous lighthouse. This book recounts the day by day story of this fabulous adventure, and is illustrated with the magnificent photographs of Stephane Compoint.