While the main contributing factor, the loss of the library did not necessarily mean the end of the collection, as copies of many works were present in nearby libraries and the Temple of Serapis, according to Time. Due to several scholars describing their continued use of surviving structures within the main complex, it is reasonable to assume that at least some portion of the original collection survived. As much of it remains lost to this day, it is unknown if either site remained by 415 CE as many other conflicts in the region could have similarly wiped them away. That year was, however, the final nail in the coffin for Alexandria as a nexus of education. 

That was the year Hypatia, a renowned mathematician who adhered to the knowledge still barely present in the city, was killed by a mob for her interaction with pagans. Few intellectuals remained in the city after that, with Hypatia’s death symbolizing for many the end of classical scholarship. While there were attempts to revive classical thought and literature during the Islamic Golden Age and European Renaissance, neither managed to mend the knowledge gap inflicted by the Library of Alexandria’s loss.