Public broadcasting of this work and its meanings and implications form an integral part of this project. This is not merely for the material purposes which we show in Appendix A (although these are considerable) but more so for the nature of the science involved: The essential message of history, working through archaeology, is self-awareness of the past.
We can, since we have done much of the historical review, produce video segments outlining what the purposes of the proposal are. Moreover, TV production and training facilities are in sight of the vessel's proposed building site (Appendix A).
From every time fragment of the New Kingdom, one group of interests rarely shares information with other groups. The process of publication stumbles, halts and often never works. This is amply demonstrated by the fact that the full publication of the tomb of Tut Ankh Amen has not yet hap- pened more than seventy years after its discovery. Up to now, the fault has been the lack of public involvement. But this is really a self-fulfilling prophecy. The academic community created, willy-nilly, a whole system of obfuscation to create an inner world of their own. This kept the public from knowing how little they actually knew.
The tale is too long for retelling here. Most knowledgeable readers will agree with the view.
That excuse no longer exists. The demand of Television for information ended that. Dinosaurs may now exceed the appeal of Ancient Egypt but not for long. Multiplying specialty channels are creating a vibrant market for knowing the past and ending the logjam of publication. The only problem is feeding correct information to the voracious consumer. We expect to make generous use of video tape on this project. The high performance Personal Computers that now do double duty as mainframes can do incredible duty in nearly hands off video production.
Our project opened discussions with Television Producers from Edinburgh to Cambridge to Mount Desert to Toronto. The most serious of those came, as noted, from Hugh Scully's group. Our proposed ability to deliver feeds from the Valley itself, and provide a secure venue for all parts of the Nile Valley likely made us irresistable. We can create programs directly off air for the new and multiplying Information Channels. Once more, take notice of the near mainframe capabilities of the CPUs we intend to have on board. We can put together instruction or promotional video pieces in short order.
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