Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

include Books of the Dead (including one with gilded
pictures), rare New Testament papyri and the oldest-known
fragment of the biography of the Prophet Mohammed.
Also among the vast wealth of material are individual
special items of particular interest. Included is possibly the
only surviving piece of the Library of Alexandria, as well as
the oldest-known fragment of an ancient song. The works
of many ancient writers and poets are represented here.
Many of the most important languages in the Old
World exist in original writing in the collection. Examples
include the Egyptian languages in their different forms:
hieroglyphics, hieratic, demotic and Coptic, as well as
Latin, Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac and Pehlewi (Middle
Persian). Most numerous are the texts in Arabic and
Greek, which was the language of the establishment and
of administration for almost a millennium from around
300 BC onwards.
The Austrian National Library has a separate Papyrus
Museum which features some highlights of the collection
and allows an insight into the lives of some of the people
who lived in the Nile Valley over a period of 3000 years.
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