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Lost Library Returns After 2000 Years
Technodummy writes "An update on Reading the Ancient Papyri.
The long-buried Villa of the Papyri, one of Italy's richest Roman villas famed for its library of ancient scrolls, opened to the public this weekend almost 2,000 years after it was submerged in volcanic mud.
The scrolls, which looked like sticks of charcoal when they were first discovered, have mostly turned out to be works of Greek epicurean philosophy from the first century BC."
A quite unhistorical, but probably apt, story comes to us through the Norwegian humorist, Nils Kjaer. At the time of Caliph Omar's invasion of Egypt, the Arab officer on duty in the destruction of the library of Alexandria used two stamps with which he marked the books. One said: "Does not agree with the Koran--heretic, must be burned. The other said: Agrees with the Koran--superfluous, must be burned,"
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
The Villa of the Papyri, located in ancient Herculaneum, and having been a Roman city is also thought to have a Latin section, still buried beneath the mud. Since Herculaneum was buried in mud, not ash like Pompeii, it is extremely difficult to dig the rest of the villa out. Not to mention that the foundations of buildings from the modern city of Ercolano probably impede the archaeologist's progress. As for letting the public in, I think that's great. I only hope they drained the pool of funky bacteria-infested swamp water below the entrance that has built up over the years.
Mr. Bond, they have a saying in Chicago: Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time is enemy action.
You're confusing publishers with the recording/movie industry. There are a few publishers that even offer their books online for download for free (Baen is the largest of these I think). The publishing industry seems aware that in order to make money you must get the public interested in your product. I don't think they would oppose a library if it hadn't existed before.
Well, it has never been successfully tested.
Sure, they can survive 2000 years entombed under a volcanic slick, but what next:
Warm temperatures
Dry humidity
Ultraviolet light
I sure hope they know what they're doing, or they'll be left with a pile of lightly stained flakes if they're not careful.
YAW.
Your head of state is a corrupt weasel, I hope you're happy.
They're lost to me. I haven't seen any of them yet, nor am I sure where to look if they've been published. Will they be published? I found an old article which seems to indicate so, but nothing more. I didn't search very hard though.
...and how long until Hollywood tries to declare copyright on them, and the only way you will "see" them is through the eyes of a low brow movie. ;-)
Don't worry, I'm sure the MPAA, RIAA, and Microsoft will help the modern world overcome such heresy, but with DRM rejection certificates instead of book burning. ;-)
I tried a Google search, but didn't find anything very interesting. A little more info at an article titled "Ancient maths revealed". Some possibly interesting links (at bottom of page). An article at BYU which goes into slightly more detail about the multi-spectral imaging technology. Though your "religious ferver" comment may apply here. If BYU does create a digital archive, will they really release lesbian poetry?
If only this were true. See this article from the Washington Post about libraries and e-books. Having been involved briefly with e-books and talking to several publishers about fair use and DRM, it became obvious to us that book publishers want what the rest of the entertainment industry wants: pay-per-view. Libraries, used book stores, and people who loan books to their friends are all part of the same problem. And while the discussions started out about e-books, they always ended up talking about books in general.