Were it not for the persistence and effort of those scholars, a vast body of precious documents would have been lost in the war.

"Were it not for" 是正式语体中的倒装虚拟条件结构，相当于 "If it were not for"，引出与过去事实相反的假设条件；后接名词短语 the persistence and effort of those scholars 作为条件内容，主句用 would have been lost 表示反事实条件下的结果推断。