Sunday, February 10, 2008


The lighthouse is one of the worlds oldest small building structures with such a specifically defined purpose and use. As a tower building or framework that sends out light to aid navagation and piloting, these maratime beacons have marked the earths most dangerous shores, guiding ships at sea for over 2000 years.
Its basic purpose, opertation and technology have remained remarkably consistnat despite the many different styles, forms and colours it can be found in throughout the world today.
With the advent of GPS and advancements in other modern navigational devices, the lighthouse is slowly becoming less of a useful tool and runs the risk of becoming obsolete.

In doing this research on lighthouses around the world, it became clear that although certain specific details regarding materials, or style were reflected regionally, their overall form and technology have remained remarkably constitant over the last 2000 years. Again, with the invention of satelite technology, GPS and other advanced navigational tools, the lighthouse is becoming more and more obsolete. It would appear that the future of the lighthouse is growing “dim” as more and more of them fall out of service everyday.
The importance of lighthouses and their historic roles has not gone unnoticed as we see more and more preservation groups worldwide determined to ensure that the legacy of these formidable structures remains intact. The lighthouse will continue to act as a strong symbolic figure in many aspects of our modern popular culture and will always stand as inspiring monuments to our many rich maritime heritages around the world.

No comments: