A rare library volume has finally resurfaced in Kiama, Australia, after spending about 150 years concealed inside a fireplace wall. The book, The Antiquities of Athens and Other Monuments of Greece, was discovered during home renovations and later returned to Kiama Library.
A Remarkable Return
The find was made by Ross Simmons, 77, while working on a house on Manning Street in the coastal town south of Sydney. Inside an old tea crate bricked into a disused fireplace, he found the 1858 edition of the architectural study. Library staff quickly identified it as part of their earliest collection.
Marked as book No. 506, the volume belonged to the library's original holdings of roughly 1,000 books. Written by James Stuart and Nicholas Revett, the work documents ancient Greek monuments with detailed illustrations and measurements, and it helped shape the Greek Revival style in later architecture and design.
A Glimpse Into Early Library Life
The book still carries traces of the library's original borrowing rules, which allowed readers to keep a volume for one month before late fees applied. Based on those historic terms, the theoretical overdue charge would be around A$28,000 today, though the library has no plan to pursue it.
The borrower's identity remains unknown, and the old lending records that might have solved the mystery are no longer available. Even so, the book now has a secure place in the library's local history collection, where it will remain on display.
Its return highlights how cultural objects can travel through time and still reconnect communities with their past. In the future, such rediscoveries may inspire even greater care for archival heritage and local memory.
