A team of Chinese construction workers made a potentially historic discovery on Saturday, March 30th while working on a highway project in Nairobi, Kenya. The team, comprising a Chinese truck driver and two loaders working for Xing-Hoa Construction & Fabricators, found what appeared to be the remains of an ancient library in the vicinity of the city’s Globe Cinema roundabout. They promptly alerted local authorities who were quick to put together a team of experts to investigate the matter.
On arrival at the scene at around noon, the team confirmed that indeed there might have been an ancient library close to the scene of the discovery. Efforts to get archaeological excavators to the scene were hampered by a cheery afternoon downpour but were resumed on Sunday morning where more artifacts were recovered, shedding further light on the intriguing finding.
A member of the archaeological team told this writer that the library seemed to have been a center for the exchange of literature and ideas, as well as of discussion and debate, rivaling those of ancient Athens, Alexandria and Timbuktu. One unique feature of the library not found in any other, she added, was that it appears to have been a rather robustious social hang-out, with evidence of loud music performed by what a she jokingly referred to as “proto-DJs”, and consumption of wine and other celebratory intoxicants. The Kenyan archaeologist says the deduction was made from the remains of a variety of antique vessels such as goblets, early bottles and even shot glasses. She concludes that, “We’re still at the very early stages of our research, but this must be the world’s loudest library!”