Story of the place
How to read this place
Few ancient towns had a public library — Philippopolis was one, with a building whose walls kept the scrolls safe from damp.
- Built
- 2nd c. AD
- Size
- ≈ 20 × 15 m
- Excavated
- 1980s
A public library
The library was built in the 2nd century AD in the northern part of the Roman forum. That the city had a library at all speaks to its importance and culture within the empire.
Source trail: Wikipedia — Library of Philippopolis ↗Niches for scrolls
The rectangular brick building was about 20 by 15 m, with a marble floor and niches in the walls for the wooden cabinets of scrolls. Vertical clay pipes were embedded in the thick walls, connected to the forum's drainage — a system against the damp that would have ruined papyrus.
Source trail: Wikipedia — Library of Philippopolis ↗Partly under the city
The building was uncovered in excavations in the 1980s in central Plovdiv; its western part still remains beneath modern buildings.
Source trail: Wikipedia — Library of Philippopolis ↗Dating
Antiquity
Source trail: Wikipedia — Library of Philippopolis ↗Architect/builder
not identified in the current public source
Source trail: Wikipedia — Library of Philippopolis ↗Current status
Publicly documented archaeological or ancient site within Plovdiv’s urban fabric.
Open map ↗Public Wikidata record
library in Bulgaria
- Type
- archaeological site and library
- Location
- Plovdiv
Traces and evidence
-
Description and historical context for Library of Philippopolis.
Source trail: Wikipedia — Library of Philippopolis ↗ -
Coordinates for Library of Philippopolis.
Source trail: Coordinates (Wikidata) · Library of Philippopolis ↗ -
Media and license for Library of Philippopolis: Plovdiv library 2.jpg.
Source trail: Wikimedia Commons — Plovdiv library 2.jpg ↗
Current status
Publicly documented archaeological or ancient site within Plovdiv’s urban fabric.
Ownership, care and institutions
The public record used here does not identify a traceable ownership or management history. This page therefore shows only verified institutional and source links.
Connected people
No people are linked in the current knowledge base.
Visit and orientation
- Coordinates
- 42.14343, 24.75021 · wikidata_coordinate
- Built/date
- Antiquity
- Architect/builder
- not identified in the current public source
Full event stream
No separate events are linked to this place.
No separate events are present for this place in the current knowledge base; use the public record, sources and description.
Around this place
No other places are linked through the same events.
No separate archive or then/now record is available for this place yet. The main image, coordinates and sources remain published.