So one can detect the mentioning 'hic abundant leones' ('here are many lions'; see picture) in the top left corner of the Cotton Tiberius Map (around the year 1025).

In the architecture of the Greeks and Romans, the lion was the Guardian of Fountains (crenophylax). It is probable that from these origins and others (e.g. lions as symbols of royalty) the strong, powerful, royal, respectable lion became the guardian of libraries (fountains of knowledge), museums (fountains of beauty and creativity), castles (fountains of power), and courthouses (fountains of justice).

In consequence, the short form HIC LEONES stands for the adventure of geographical search in the unknown territory of the past and for the triumph of discovery, which advances the spiral of Asking - Searching - Finding - Understanding - further Asking ...

HIC LEONES also stands for the securing and protection of data from historical books by digitization (digital storage of every single page), and the transfer of this information into a digital encyclopedia. The goal is to preserve this knowlege of the past with the means of the present and to protect it for the future.

This impressive, about 10 feet tall specimen of Panthera Leo (see picture) can be found (together with others of its kind) at the bottom of the Christopher Columbus Monument at the Porta de la Pau, the southeastern end of the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona.
Construction of the Monument a Cristóbal Colón [N 41° 22', O 2° 10'] started in 1881 and was finished in 1888 for the opening of the World Exhibition.