Piso was a collector of writings as well. Archaeologists digging in the 1750s found a collection of nearly 1,800 papyrus scrolls. The scrolls were sealed in portable cases and were discovered in tunnels underneath the villa, leading archaeologists to surmise that the owner had attempted to spirit the scrolls away while the volcano was raging.
Like an amazing amount of other people, animals, and things in both Pompeii and Herculaneum, the scrolls were largely preserved by being overrun with volcanic ash. As a result, historians have been able to read what is written on some of the scrolls. The main writings so far discovered are by Philodemus of Gadara, a student of Epicureanism, one of antiquity's dueling philosophical traditions. Among Epicureanism's main tenets was the importance of living a happy and pleasurable life.
The main excavations at the Villa of the Papyri took place between 1750 and 1765, under the direction of Swiss engineer and archaeologist Karl Web. Not all of the land in or under the villa has been excavated.
Library of Pergamum
Another famous ancient library was in Pergamum, in what is now Bergama, Turkey. The Library of Pergamum was established during the rule of King Eumenes II, during the 2nd Century B.C. At its largest, the Pergamum library is thought to have more than 200,000 scrolls.
The library was a quite large building, with a large reading room filled with benches and a great number of shelves. Works stored in the library were written on parchment and stored, rolled up, on shelves. Space was left between the shelves and the outer walls to accommodate air circulation, in an early attempt at preservation (given the humid climate of the area). The library was part of a temple complex dedicated to the goddess Athena, and a large statue of her was in the reading room. Also onsite were study facilities, and this attracted some of the great minds of the time, including several scientists from the famed Great Library of Alexandria.
The Roman Empire assumed control of the Library of Pergamum in 133 B.C. Although the library continued as a source of information and study, its best years proved to be behind it as the centuries passed. The Ottoman Empire took over the library after the fall of Constantinople, in 1453.
House of Wisdom
Perhaps the most famous library during the Dark Ages was the House of Wisdom, an English translation of Bayt al-Hikmah, a library established in Baghdad, in what is now Iraq but was then part of what was known as the Muslim Empire. In Western lands after the fall of the Roman Empire, people turned away from the scientific focus of ancient Greece. This was not the case in the House of Wisdom, where Muslim scientists and scholars gathered to study and progress the world's learning.
Beginning with copies of worlds stores in the libraries of Constantinople (still Byzantine at this time), the librarians at the House of Wisdom created a library of international renown, translating works by Euclid, Archimedes, Pythagoras, Hippocrates, and other famous Greeks into Arabic. Indian and Persian texts served as inspiration as well. Special areas of focus at the House of Wisdom included astronomy, cartography, chemistry, geography, mathematics, medicine, and zoology.
One scholar, Hunayn bin Ishaq (known in the West as Joanitius) translated into Arabic the entire body of Greek medical works, including the Hippocratic Oath. He then expanded on the Greeks' knowledge. In fact, one of his books on ophthalmology was the first to include anatomical drawings and was so influential that it was translated into Latin and served as the definitive Western text on the subject for a great many years.
Out of this focus on mathematics and the sciences came the popularization of what we now call Arabic numerals. Originating in India, these numerals simplified counting and made possible the development of algebra. Indeed, algebra is a version of Kitab al-Jabr, a book written by the famed mathematician Al-Khawarizmi.
Of necessity, in lands sometimes bereft of the necessary supply of food, water, wood, or precious metals, Muslim scientists devised inventions in agriculture, construction, and metalworking that were advanced beyond Western knowledge.
Scholars eventually focused on Greek literature and philosophy as well, translating works of Plato and Aristotle into Arabic. With this expansion came a method of cataloging the contents of the library, a good part of which was printed on paper.
Officially, the House of Wisdom opened in 1004. However, the collecting and translating had been happening for awhile before then. The physical collection of works and study lasted until 1258, when the Mongols sacked Baghdad. The learning and writing that took place in the House of Wisdom, however, continued in the traditions of both East and West.
Vatican Library
One large library begun in the Middle Ages that survives to this day is the Vatican Library. Although Catholic Church leaders had maintained manuscript and book collections for many years, it was the 15th Century that saw the establishment of the Vatican Library, by Pope Nicholas V. The formal establishment came in 1475. The first librarian, Platina, began in 1481 with a catalog containing about 3,500 listings. About a century later, in 1587, a new building was built to house the growing collection. That building is still in use today.
The Vatican Library contains not only religious works but also law texts and and history texts, science works, and classics from Greece and Rome. The librarians at the Vatican became known throughout the subsequent centuries as eminent scholars, especially during the Renaissance. People came to the Vatican from all over the world to study the texts housed within the Library. To discourage theft, Vatican librarians took up the habit of chaining some books to the benches on which they were displayed.
In all, the holdings at the Vatican Library number in the millions. The Secret Archives, separated from the main library in the 1600s, contain another 150,000 items.
The owner of the villa was Lucius Calpurnius Piso, the father-in-law of Julius Caesar. Piso was quite a collector. His villa had more than 80 sculptures, some quite large. The grounds were extensive, containing a large swimming bath and a large area of both covered and uncovered gardens. The furnishings in the villa were lavish. But the villa is most famous for its library, the contents of which give the villa its name.
One great European library that moved around a fair bit is the National Library of France. Now located on its own grounds in Paris, it began its life in the 14th Century as a royal collection in an adjunct to the Louvre and then bounced around to various locations before being taken over entirely by the population at large during the French Revolution, during which time it had more than 300,000 volumes. Napoleon encouraged additions to the Bibliotheque Nationale, as it was now called, and the size of the collection doubled in his lifetime. For many years, the Bibliotheque Nationale was the largest library in the world. Although it has now lost that title, the library now boasts more than 4 million volumes and 11,000 manuscripts.
Congress began again, infused by Jefferson's nearly 6,500 books and grew steadily along with the country.
