Mortui Vivos Docent

Hey Tumblr, if you are still mad about the Library of Alexandria, Stop! You can SAVE one ancient library right now. The Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum was buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, Some nearly 2000 carbonized scrolls were discovered along with the villa in the 1700s. Over the past couple centuries the scrolls have been a major source of study and today we are finally reaching ways of reading their contents without destroying the scrolls in the process. Here’s the big news, just over a week ago a whole lost work of Seneca the elder, became unlost! Article here: http://www.romeandart.eu/en/art-news-historia-seneca.html  The villa itself is largely underground and was explored via tunneling and as such it’s full extent still hasn’t been made clear, and it has long been suspected that additional libraries could exist within the site, not to mention other as of yet undiscovered villas. However, Italy as with many European countries simply has so many archaeological sites and new things being found all the time and not enough money to go around. Additionally the Villa of the Papyri is threatened with constant flooding issues. Library aside Sites like Herculaneum and Pompeii and all Archaeological sites around the world tell us so much about ancient peoples and cultures where we don’t have their literature to call on.  So how can you save the last ancient library? Donate to various archaeological and conservation/preservation groups, or even volunteer! Here a just a couple links to get started:

Skulls show women moved across medieval Europe, not just men