The Roman triumphal pillar was described by a Muslim traveler, Ibn Battuta, who visited the column back in 1436. Battuta recounted the story of an archer who shot an arrow tied to a string over the column, which enabled him to pull a rope tied to the string over the column and secure it on the other side in order to climb over to the top of the pillar.
In early 1803, John Shortland did few fun things on top of the pillar that included eating, drinking and flying a kite. Some believe that this pillar (non drum) is the only one standing from the Roman era in Egypt.