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Description
The Library of Celsus in Ephesus

Celsus, in the honour of whom the library was originally built, had been consul in 92 AD, governor of Asia in 115 AD, and a wealthy and popular local citizen. He was a native of nearby Sardis and amongst the earliest men of purely Greek origin[7] to become a consul in the Roman Empire and is honoured both as a Greek and a Roman on the library itself.[8] Celsus paid for the construction of the library with his own personal wealth.[9] Construction on the library began in 117 AD and was completed in 120,[10] in Ephesus, a territory that was traditionally Greek.[11] The building is important as one of the few remaining examples of an ancient Roman-influenced library. It also shows that public libraries were built not only in Rome itself but throughout the Roman Empire.

The interior of the library and all its books were destroyed by fire in the devastating earthquake that struck the city in 262 A.D.[4] Only the façade survived. About 400 AD, the library was transformed into a Nymphaeum. The façade was completely destroyed by a later earthquake, probably in the eleventh or tenth century.[5]

Between 1970 and 1978, a reconstruction campaign was led by the German archaeologist Volker Michael Strocka. Strocka analysed the fragments that had been excavated by Austrian archaeologists between 1903 and 1904.[12] In the meantime, some architectural elements had been acquired by museums in Vienna and Istanbul. In the process of anastylosis, those absent fragments had to be replaced by copies or left missing.[6] Only the façade was rebuilt, the rest of the building remaining in ruin.

Description
The Library of Celsus in Ephesus

Celsus, in the honour of whom the library was originally built, had been consul in 92 AD, governor of Asia in 115 AD, and a wealthy and popular local citizen. He was a native of nearby Sardis and amongst the earliest men of purely Greek origin[7] to become a consul in the Roman Empire and is honoured both as a Greek and a Roman on the library itself.[8] Celsus paid for the construction of the library with his own personal wealth.[9] Construction on the library began in 117 AD and was completed in 120,[10] in Ephesus, a territory that was traditionally Greek.[11] The building is important as one of the few remaining examples of an ancient Roman-influenced library. It also shows that public libraries were built not only in Rome itself but throughout the Roman Empire.

The interior of the library and all its books were destroyed by fire in the devastating earthquake that struck the city in 262 A.D.[4] Only the façade survived. About 400 AD, the library was transformed into a Nymphaeum. The façade was completely destroyed by a later earthquake, probably in the eleventh or tenth century.[5]

Between 1970 and 1978, a reconstruction campaign was led by the German archaeologist Volker Michael Strocka. Strocka analysed the fragments that had been excavated by Austrian archaeologists between 1903 and 1904.[12] In the meantime, some architectural elements had been acquired by museums in Vienna and Istanbul. In the process of anastylosis, those absent fragments had to be replaced by copies or left missing.[6] Only the façade was rebuilt, the rest of the building remaining in ruin.