“Unearthing Secrets: Cologne’s Ancient Library Reveals Long-Lost Knowledge Hidden for Centuries!”
What tripped up scientists were the niches in the walls of the building they discovered that measure approximately 80 centimeters by 50 centimeters (or 31.5 inches by 19.7 inches).
“It took us some time to match up the parallels – we could see the niches were too small to bear statues inside. But what they are are kind of cupboards for the scrolls,” said Dr. Dirk Schmitz from the Roman-Germanic Museum of Cologne.
Hi-flyFoto/Roman-Germanic Museum of Cologne
“They are very particular to libraries,” explained Dr. Schmitz. “If we had just found the foundations, we wouldn’t have known it was a library. It was because it had walls, with the niches, that we could tell.”
Archeologists can’t exactly tell just how many scrolls were housed in this library, but Dr. Schmitz claims that it would have been “quite huge – maybe 20,000,” adding that this latest discovery is “really incredible – a spectacular find.”
Dr. Schmitz also adds that the library’s central location is how experts can determine that this library was a public one. “It is in the middle of Cologne, in the marketplace, or forum: the public space in the city centre. It is built of very strong materials, and such buildings, because they are so huge, were public,” he said.
This major German city isn’t a stranger to ancient ruins. Cologne was founded by the Romans in 50 A.D. under the name Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium — or, simply put, Colonia. The first urban settlement in this region actually dates back to 38 A.D., but eventually became an officially colony under Emperor Claudius 12 years later.
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