Cologne, Germany's oldest library discovered, dates back to Roman times

What experts believe to be the oldest library in Germany has been discovered in Cologne. The discovery is thanks to a team of researchers from the German city’s Römisch-Germanisches Museum (Roman-Germanic Museum), who were called in as part of an excavation near a Protestant church in the center of Cologne, in an area where commercial activities abound. A building (a community center united with the church) was in fact supposed to have been erected on the site, but work stopped to allow light to be shed on the remains unearthed.

At first it was thought to be a public hall, but as the excavation proceeded, archaeologists noticed that the walls had features compatible with those of a library (i.e., niches in the walls to hold books and scrolls, measuring about 80 by 50 centimeters), which it was estimated could have housed about 20,000 manuscripts. Similar niches, according to archaeologist Dirk Schmitz of the Römisch-Germanisches Museum, can also be found at the Library of Ephesus. “An incredible, spectacular discovery,” commented the expert, reached by the Guardian. “It can be dated to the middle of the second century AD, making it the oldest library in Germany, and perhaps in all the northwestern provinces of the Roman Empire. It is likely that many Roman cities had libraries, but these have not yet been found. And if we had only found the foundations, we would not have realized that this was a library. We can only say that because the walls have also been found here.”

Now the question arises of how to preserve the very important ruins. It is likely that they will be included in the building under construction, with a space reserved for them, underground, open to visitors.

Pictured: the remains of the rediscovered library.

Cologne, Germany's oldest library discovered, dates back to Roman times

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