Ancient Libraries

Paleolitik devirle birlikte ortaya çıkan insan, hemcinsleri ile önce bazı sesler çıkararak iletişim kurmayı deneyerek konuşma özelliği geliştirmiş, daha sonra bazı işaretler ve sembolleri bir takım nesneler üzerine yazarak edindiği deneyimleri sonraki kuşaklara aktarmıştır 1 . Kuşkusuz, unutma, ekleme ve hatta değiştirmelere yol açacağından, çeşitli şekillerde elde edilen bilgilerin sözlü olarak iletilmesi sağlıklı değildir. Düşüncelerini yazı ile ifade etmeyi öğrenen insan, kendinden öncekilerden öğrendiklerine kendi öğrendiklerini de katarak bunları sonraki kuşaklara iletmiştir 2 . Diğer bir deyişle, sözlü dönemde mümkün olmayan bilginin kalıcılığı yazı ile birlikte olanaklı hale gelmiştir.

A study of the archaeology of the so-called Nippur Library including the publication of a manuscript written by H.V. Geere and C.S. Fisher who helped excavate the Library in Season 4 at Nippur. Also included is a catalogue of just over 1000 tablets identified in the CBS Catalogue as having come from the 'Library'. The paper will shortly be published in the forthcoming edition of al-Rafidian.

ABSTRACT: Power point lecture-9 introduces the written evidence in Ancient Egypt (in a summary form with text and pertinent illustrations), following the broad themes covered by chapter 8 in R. David (2007), Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt (revised edition). Many of the power point slides/pages were extracted from my pre-existing and on-going, more detailed lectures on Egypt in the Age of the Pyramids (Anth.309), and Imperial and Post-Imperial Egypt (Anth.310), which in-turn represent an expansion and modification of varied past lectures (at WLU; UCLA; UT; UWS; UAB).  In some areas, I follow more closely the data presented by R. David (e.g., the history of Egyptology; past-present research on mummification), while for other chapters I have edited and re-arranged my existing power points to fit the textbook and this course’s thematic approach.  This course actually began as Anth.207 (Introduction to Egyptian Archaeology), but after I expanded this material into two more detailed, and more chronological courses (Anth.309; 310), I realized a need for an additional course that incorporated (1) a brief thematic overview of Ancient Egypt (e.g., geography; history; social organization; architecture & art; cultic & mortuary religion; language & literature; military; trade; economy & industry; daily life), (2) some featured documentaries and response sheets on early to recent explorers and Egyptologists (e.g., Belzoni; Champollion; Budge; Petrie; Carter; others), and (3) a brief introduction to Egyptian hieroglyphs (Collier & Manley, How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs).  Hence, the development of the current course, which received very good reviews in Fall 2012 and will be offered again in Spring 2015.  In addition to these lectures, I have uploaded copies of my in-class power points following Collier & Manley’s chapters 1-8, and extracted exercise worksheets from their chapters for use in-class, while requiring my students to work through Collier and Manley’s chapters at home and pre-prepare the exercise for in-class sessions.  Collier and Manley’s excellent, introductory text, other textbook choices (see the separate syllabus), the aforementioned documentaries, and other Egyptological materials have sufficed to enthuse a few undergraduate students from UAB to pursue more detailed graduate training in Egyptian archaeology and languages.  Hopefully, these lectures may be of assistance to others in looking at various aspects of Ancient Egypt, in designing and improving upon such a thematic approach, or in providing any feedback regarding any omissions or errors that may have crept into the course materials.  I try to revise this material each time I teach the course (usually in alternate years), and remain indebted to my initial teachers, diverse Egyptological sources, online materials (mainly used for illustrative and educational purposes), and other dialogue with my students and colleagues for feedback and ideas incorporated into the course’s design and revision. UPDATED: Dec. 2021 --new formatting.

This essay considers the architectural setting depicted in the famous Melozzo's fresco 'Sixtus IV Founding Vatican Library', through the analysis of ancient sources (Vitruvio, Isidoro di Siviglia) and contemporary sources (Francesco Patrizi), the author draws the reconstruction of the space where the figures are arranged.

The Great Hadrianic Peristyle of a Hundred Columns in Athens

The research during 2013 and 2014 in the library of Hadrian demonstrates that the plan of the compound was  designed on a rectangle with dimensions 300 and 400  Roman feet (pedes). Accordingly, it appears that the pool  in the middle of the compound was 200 pedes long. Certain interaxial column spaces of the peristyle were equal to one Roman rod or 10 pedes. The discovery of  column fragments from Phrygian marble (pavonazzetto) allows for the reconstruction of the Corinthian order in the internal peristyle. Τhe dimensions are combined with in situ features on the stylobate and the walls.

Edizione commentata e traduzione del trattatello di Justus Lipsius, riconosciuto come il primo libro moderno di storia delle biblioteche. L'edizione è preceduta da un saggio mirante alla ricostruzione del contesto di storia bibliotecaria precedente all'opera lipsiana.

While basically genealogical in nature, those within the genealogy or family tree as relatives and/or ancestors of the famous Hypatia of Alexandria, do much to put the story of Hypatia and the Library of Alexandria into a much different perspective than ever before. When items such as this become uncovered, it is often seen as a precursor to even more and perhaps much larger discoveries.

Il De Bibliothecis Romanorum di Christian Curio, apparso nel 1734, è una delle prime tesi accademiche di storia delle biblioteche. Ne è qui riproposta la prima edizione moderna corredata di saggio introduttivo, traduzione e commento critico.

This paper presents a shape grammar that formalizes the architectural form of ancient Greek and Roman libraries and encodes it into shape rules for the reconstruction, evaluation and prediction of ancient Greek and Roman libraries.The grammar is briefly presented and the different contributions of the computation to archaeological research are discussed.

The article analyses in chronological order forty four unpublished manuscripts by pope Urban VIII and his successor and, through cross-reference with lists of books, inventories and letters by librarians of the time, reconstructs the story of one of the Barberini's librarie.

This paper presents attested and supposed libraries in ancient Athens, from Late Archaic times to the Antonine period. It considers the nature of these libraries, their place in the city and their aims. The first attested libraries, appearing in early classical testimonia and vase painting, were private collections of rolls kept in the houses of wealthy Athenians or used by ancient writers and schoolmasters. The educational and academic value of these libraries seems prominent, both in personal libraries of the classical period and in the public libraries appearing in the 2nd century B.C.E. Alongside these libraries, a kind of “state” library is attested in relation with the archives, aiming at preserving the integrity of a few selected works such at the Homeric poems and the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, as well as important laws and administrative records.
PDF available on request

This paper presents a shape grammar that formalizes the architectural form of ancient Greek and Roman libraries and encodes it into shape rules for the reconstruction, evaluation and prediction of ancient Greek and Roman libraries.The grammar is briefly presented and the different contributions of the computation to archaeological research are discussed.

Az antik könyvtárakra vonatkozó feliratok és irodalmi emlékek nem hagynak két séget afelől, hogy ezen épületek díszítésére az építtetők legalább annyi figyelmet és pénzt fordítottak, mint az ott elhelyezendő könyvekre. Az ephesosi Celsus-könyvtár dedikációjában, amit a bejárat fölött helyeztek el, a következőket olvashatjuk: Tnv Ke\criaví)v ßißXioii)fJK,r|v KaTacrKetiaasv èK, TÛV L6ÍU>V aw TvávTi TI^ KÓc^Kai ocva-ATiiiaai K, ai ßißXioic.(ACelsus-könyvtarat saját költségén állította a teljes díszítéssel, szobrokkal és könyvekkel.) 1 Mint az a felsorolásból is kitetszik, a könyvek egyenesen az utolsó helyre kerültek az épület és annak díszítményei mögött.

Se non fossero nascoste dal cantiere della Metro C, lungo via dei Fori Imperiali noteremmo quattro lastre di marmo fissate sul muro di contenimento della basilica di Massenzio. Raffigurano l'espansione progressiva dell'impero romano. L'ultima fotografa la cartografia politica del 117 d. C., quando con Traiano fu raggiunto il massimo sviluppo. Muñoz, ideatore nel 1934 dell'installazione, confidava nella capacità dell'inconscio di suscitare ammirazione per la civiltà romana. Non tutti hanno letto così bene il sussidiario da ricordarsi che Traiano fosse nato in Spagna, come il successore Adriano: l'eroe delle Memorie, colui che fece adottare al suo erede il filosofo Marco Aurelio. Loro due sì uomini di cultura, mentre Traiano era un duro generale, conquistatore dell'Armenia, della Mesopotamia e dei Daci. Può dunque destare stupore quando, magari studiando alle superiori, si viene a conoscenza della sua volontà di essere celebrato dopo la morte tra due biblioteche, raccolto in un'urna alla base di una colonna narrante che riproduce nella forma il rotolo di un libro.