>> Researchers currently poring over the papyri in the Carlsberg Collection are finding that medical information discovered in ancient Egypt didn't disappear wh

>> Researchers currently poring over the papyri in the Carlsberg Collection are finding that medical information discovered in ancient Egypt didn't disappear when the Library of Alexandria burned > That's because almost nothing was lost when the library at Alexandria burned. Because there was almost nothing there to burn at the time. The library had long been in decline by this time period, and there were many other great centers of learning in the world which had extensive libraries. Why does this myth still persist? Because it's a rather romantic myth, and it's repeated by influential people in still-prominent works (e.g. https://old.reddit.com/r/badhistory/comments/1nqrl0/carl_sagan_the_library_of_alexandria_and_the/ https://old.reddit.com/r/badhistory/comments/1nqrl0/carl_sag...). The actual source howstuffworks.com cites for that section doesn't mention the myth (https://sciencenordic.com/denmark-videnskabdk/unpublished-egyptian-texts-reveal-new-insights-into-ancient-medicine/1457797 https://sciencenordic.com/denmark-videnskabdk/unpublished-eg...). My guess is the "freelance science writer" who wrote this piece interpolated it for color from a memory of a pop-science source like the one in the critique above.