Medieval History
The majority of Timbuktu's ancient manuscripts appear to be safe and unharmed after the Saharan city's 10-month occupation by Islamist rebel fighters, experts said on Wednesday, rejecting some media reports of their widespread destruction.
Denying accounts that told of tens of thousands of priceless papers being burned or stolen by the fleeing rebels, they said the bulk of the Timbuktu texts had been safely hidden well before the city's liberation by French forces on Sunday.
Brittle, written in ornate calligraphy, and ranging from scholarly treatises to old commercial invoices, the Timbuktu texts represent a compendium of human knowledge on everything from law, sciences and medicine to history and politics. Some experts compare them in importance to the Dead Sea Scrolls.
News that they were mostly safe, from people directly involved with conservation of the texts, was a relief to the world's cultural community, which had been dismayed by the prospect of a large-scale loss.
Click here to read this article from Reuters
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Medieval History
Bulk of Timbuktu manuscripts survived occupation unharmed
Denying accounts that told of tens of thousands of priceless papers being burned or stolen by the fleeing rebels, they said the bulk of the Timbuktu texts had been safely hidden well before the city's liberation by French forces on Sunday.
Brittle, written in ornate calligraphy, and ranging from scholarly treatises to old commercial invoices, the Timbuktu texts represent a compendium of human knowledge on everything from law, sciences and medicine to history and politics. Some experts compare them in importance to the Dead Sea Scrolls.
News that they were mostly safe, from people directly involved with conservation of the texts, was a relief to the world's cultural community, which had been dismayed by the prospect of a large-scale loss.
Click here to read this article from Reuters
- Priceless Manuscripts Missing In Timbuktu
The fabled city of Timbuktu, a place of enigma for centuries, has now given the world another mystery: What happened to thousands of priceless, ancient manuscripts that have vanished into the dusty Sahara winds? When hundreds of French soldiers...
- ?in The Beginning?...bringing The Scrolls Of Genesis And The Ten Commandments Online
A little over a year ago, we helped put online five manuscripts of the Dead Sea Scrolls?ancient documents that include the oldest known biblical manuscripts in existence. Written more than 2,000 years ago on pieces of parchment and papyrus, they were...
- Islamist Fighters In Timbuktu Continue Destruction Of City?s Mausoleums, Heritage
Muslim extremists continued destroying the heritage of the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu on Monday, razing tombs and attacking the gate of a 600-year-old mosque, despite growing international outcry. The International Criminal Court has described the...
- Timbuktu: Mali's Treasure At Risk From Armed Uprising
For centuries, Timbuktu has existed in the Western imagination as a byword for the most exotic, far-flung place conceivable. Situated on the southern edge of the Sahara, it acquired a near-mythical status in distant countries for its fabled inaccessibility,...
- Medieval News
Medieval Nora Battys uncovered York Minster's 600-year-old stained glass window has been saved from fire Unearthed Tomb Mural Depicts Ancient Chinese Medication Interest in ancient books could restore Timbuktu Burst water pipes in York city centre...