Once the world’s cultural and intellectual capital and home to an unrivalled collection of historical papyrus and vellum scrolls, the ancient Library of Alexandria was the meeting place of scientists, philosophers and influential scholars for over seven centuries before its destruction 1600 years ago. Here, the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew to Greek for the first time. There is no definite explanation for the library’s disappearance, but many historians agree it occurred due to a series of catastrophic events, as well as civil wars and a lack of maintenance and new scrolls.