| That Alexandria burned is fairly uncontrovertial. It seems to have done so multiple times. That it was deliberate, a single act, or independent of a long-term secular decline of the collection is far less well established. The historiography of ancient literature gives far stronger credence to the notion of having multiple copies in independent locations to avoid similar erasures. Other notable examples being the burning of books and burying of scholars in Qin Dynasty China, 213 BCE (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_books_and_burying_o...), or Diego de Landa who destroyed virtually all written Mayan works (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_de_Landa#Suppression_o...). Wikipedia has a listing of destroyed libraries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_destroyed_libraries The several fires within the Library of Congress collection had a tremendous impact on the design and materials used in the Jefferson Building of the current US Library of Congress, in which stone, iron, and steel are principle materials to reduce the risks of fire. This is noted multiple times in the 19th century series of Librarian's reports to Congress. |