ABSTRACT
Archaeologist David Petts describes how early medieval lighthouses focused primarily on keeping the land safe, only turning to navigational concerns when threats from the sea decreased and fishing and trade expanded beyond local waters. The lighthouse of Alexandria was 'different in function and proportions from the minarets. While many lighthouses aimed to emulate Pharos' influence in shining a guiding light, some developments reflected its powers of surveillance and its symbolic and practical role in maintaining law and order. Nyctophobia has never been culturally or historically universal, and even during times of scarce illumination, has been accompanied by multivalent understandings. With the radical redistribution of light and dark across land and sea, the illumination dispensed by the lighthouse can no longer possess such potency. Lurid skyglow surrounds urban areas, light trespasses into dark realms, and glare constrains the perception of dark space, reconfiguring the sensory and aesthetic experience of gloom.
