The originals, as a rule, are considered lost, and most often - burnt. Not one library of the world has in its archives the original writings of the ancient writers and historians and the works of the scholars of the early Middle Ages.
The works, proclaimed as copies, appeared in a mass way in the world only in the late Middle Ages, as if appearing out of thin air. Some of them were, to the amazement and joy of the historians, in beautiful condition and contained the most detailed reports of the events and the heroes of history of centuries ago. It is enough to recall for example, the works of Josephus Flavius, who describes the Judaic wars in every detail.
There arose, however, a paradox which required explanation: before the Middle Ages, no one knew anything about these works. In other words, history in the past for some reason was interrupted for a thousand odd years and a temporary vacuum was created between antiquity and the Middle Ages. Where were the originals in this period, how were they able to be preserved for so many centuries in order to emerge suddenly from non-existence and there and then, unfortunately, burn up or be lost?