From AWOL comes the announcement of a new project of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. The latter is a modern twist on the famous ancient Hellenistic library of Alexandria, the one that supposedly went up in flames when Julius Caesar paid Egypt a visit, destroying what was reputed to be the largest and best research library in the Western world…
The Calligraphy Center is one of the five research centers affiliated to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Its aim is to study inscriptions, calligraphies and writings in the world throughout the ages, from the pre-dynastic period up to the digital age. Since the beginning of the 19 the century many archaeological discoveries unraveled the Ancient Egyptian civilization. By deciphering the Ancient Egyptian language, it led to the unveiling of this ancient civilization. Calligraphy and writing are part of the essential means to human knowledge and evolution of civilizations.
Therefore, the library has put in its priorities the study of writing’s emergence and its evolution in all cultures and civilization, searching for the major common between it. On the other hand, the foundation of such a specialized center will the narrow the gap between the fact that specialized studies in calligraphy are carried out on individual basis – experts in the disciplines of the language on one side, scholars in the evolution of writing and inscription on another and separately from anthropologists. The Center aims at bringing these experts together and creating a scientific dialogue between them, hence reflecting the role of the Library in collecting the human knowledge through the ages in its attempt to become a center of human civilizations.
Collections
And see also the full list of Digital Projects of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina