P20098.JPG [5/9] Keywords: Library of Hadrian Caption: The Library of Hadrian. View of the southern side of the western forecourt. Recent excavations have shown that there were Hellenistic and Roman houses in this area before the construction of the Library of Hadrian. After the Herulian invasion and destruction of Athens in 267 A.D., the line of the "Post-Herulian" (Late Roman) fortification wall followed the line of the walls visible here. encompassing the western, northern, and southern sides of the Library of Hadrian. View from the northwest.