Candida Moss , National Geographic; What Really Destroyed the Library of Alexandria?
"We can’t excavate the Library of Alexandria; If it is not under water, then the other place on the peninsula where it was said to be located is currently occupied by the Egyptian military. But we do know that insects, mice, and mold were major issues for Egyptian book collectors that could only be counteracted by recopying texts. And we also know that the third century C.E. was a period of military crisis and financial upheaval that disrupted funding streams in the Roman Empire. Given the instability and currency devaluation of this period, Bagnall said, along with the rapid turnover of Roman prefects, budget cuts, staff losses, and ample opportunities for theft, “it’s not difficult to imagine the whole enterprise just falling apart.”
It would have happened slowly over time, and therefore not necessarily been documented. But there’s a powerful lesson here, said Schultz, about the need to fund and sustain public libraries.
The real boogeyman, then, is just neglect. It’s not as exciting as marauding monks or power-hungry generals, but it might be more dangerous."
