Alexandria Library

One of the modern Alexandria Library's 10 floors. The ancient library contained somewhere between 40,000 and 400,000 manuscripts depending on which source you believe. (Numbers as high as 700,000 manuscripts have been cited, but the sources for that figure are unreliable and date from long after the original library's destruction.) The actual cause of the original library's destruction is a topic of much debate among scholars and historians. A website that presents a fascinating look at the evidence can be found here:

http://www.bede.org.uk/Library2.htm

This is a picture of part of the outer wall of the library. The picture does not do justice to the imposing and impressive structure itself, but it can give you an idea of what it looks like.