A 1,600-year-old mistake: The best-preserved Roman library has been revealed

Researchers from the University of Granada have identified the oldest library on the Iberian Peninsula at the extensive Roman villa of Fuente Alamo near Cordoba. When the complex was first excavated decades ago, archaeologists mistakenly believed that the system of rooms belonged to a cult structure for the god Mithras, but a reinterpretation has revealed that it is an ancient literary archive.

Identifying ancient Roman libraries is a complex task because papyrus or parchment scrolls and wooden shelves have almost completely decayed over the centuries. To overcome this, the research team applied an innovative technique known as "shape grammar," which involved analyzing the layout of the rooms and their combination, and comparing their architectural characteristics to other known libraries. Using this method, the researchers determined that the apses, rectangular niches, podiums, and auxiliary rooms correspond to a space used for reading, studying, storing literary texts, and displaying works of art.

The complex dates back to the fourth century AD – a prosperous period in the Roman province of Baetica, where wealthy landowners used to build luxurious and monumental estates. Beyond being the oldest library documented by researchers on the Iberian Peninsula, it is considered, according to the report, the best-preserved private library in the entire Roman Empire.

The discovery of the library at Fuente Alamo sheds new light on the cultural life and wealth in private Roman estates of that period. The use of advanced architectural research methods now allows researchers to identify structures whose identity was hidden due to the ravages of time, and to deepen the understanding of the ways of preserving knowledge and culture in the ancient Roman world.