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The largest preservation effort along these lines—though not using ceramics—is probably the Internet Archive, which seals physcial materials into shipping conta

• Cyph0n 10y ago
  > In 1974 Egyptologists visiting his tomb noticed that the mummy's condition was rapidly deteriorating and flew it to Paris for examination. Ramesses II was issued an Egyptian passport that listed his occupation as "King (deceased)". Humanity is simply amazing... we have come so far. A king who died ~3500 years ago was flown thousands of kilometers on a plane and was issued his own passport! > bury them in the North African desert How viable do you think would it be to setup a business that provides storage space and tracking capability in the Tunisian desert? I'm from Tunisia btw, and I think government seed funds would be happy to fund something like that. The biggest issue is who would actually pay for a service like that?
  • ekidd 10y ago
    One big question in the minds of many customers might be political stability. Tunisia had a revolution in 2011, correct? Switzerland, in contrast, hasn't been invaded for 500 years IIRC, despite being literally in the middle of two world wars. There's definitely a commericial market for storing paper documents for decades, maybe up to a century. This is currently addressed by existing mine-based storage companies, among other things. Plus mines are secure: There's often only one way in and the storage is surrounded by rock. Burying things under sand and rock in the desert obviously works for millennia; the ancient Egyptians were onto something.
    • Cyph0n 10y ago
      > One big question in the minds of many customers might be political stability. Tunisia had a revolution in 2011, correct? Correct, but the transition was from an autocracy to a fledgling democracy; the opposite would be more concerning. Security and infrastructure are both improving. Foreign investments are on the rise. This is the absolute best time to be setting up a foreign business in Tunisia, since the government will basically pay you money to do so. Oh, and skilled labor is extremely cheap and the currency is at a low right now. The only issue is that English is a 3rd language - French is more common - but Tunisians are starting to adopt English more as it opens more doors, especially on the internet. > Switzerland, in contrast, hasn't been invaded for 500 years IIRC, despite being literally in the middle of two world wars. Great, but the labor costs and bureaucratic overhead alone would be prohibitively high - 500 years of stability doesn't come for free! Another issue for such a business specifically is that Switzerland is landlocked. Tunisia's access to the sea is excellent, and it has a number of ports spread from north to south (the beaches are amazing btw!). Tunisia is also very close to Europe, and is the northernmost country in Africa. The advantage Tunisia has over its North African neighbors (Morocco, Algeria, and Libya) is that sea access is better, and getting to the desert is easier as Tunisia is smaller in size.
      • ceejayoz 10y ago
        > Correct, but the transition was from an autocracy to a fledgling democracy; the opposite would be more concerning. Security and infrastructure are both improving. Foreign investments are on the rise. The issue is less "how's it going right now" and more "how will it be in a few centuries".
        • Cyph0n 10y ago
          I can name several empires and/or civilizations that were stable for much longer than Switzerland has. The ones that remain are now essentially third-world countries. The current world super power was colonized by a foreign force just 300 years back. That same occupying force can now be crushed by said super power. The two great powers of the 15th century are now each facing a severe economic crisis. The past is not a reliable indicator of the future.
  • maverick_iceman 10y ago
    Why would a dead body need a passport?
    • dTal 10y ago
      Yeah this sounds more like an example of human stupidity than ingenuity.
  • techdragon 10y ago
    There's definitely a market for it, but the market also tends to be adverse to international shipping. It would also likely view North Africa as a region, not politically stable enough overall (not speaking about Tunisia, just the whole North Africa region in aggregate) to make them comfortable with using such a facility.
• the8472 10y ago
  The Sahara might not be the best choice, it has seen wetter periods in the past. Other deserts have been stable for far longer time spans.
  • JoeAltmaier 10y ago
    I had understood that all deserts (save Antarctica) were man-made. So none have been stable for vast time spans.
    • ComputerGuru 10y ago
      How exactly did humans create the likes of the Saharan, Arabian, Gobi, Kalaharian, or Patagonian deserts?
      • JoeAltmaier 10y ago
        Deforestation
        • RugnirViking 10y ago
          That's quite an extraordinary claim. Do you have a source I can read on that?
          • JoeAltmaier 10y ago
            One source is the satellite radar of the Sahara for instance - all the hidden roads, rivers and towns swallowed by the desert. Then the American Southwest was grasslands, until gold rush and westward expansion including cattle and sheep, resulting in overgrazing and irreversible changes. The Gobi was widely inhabited in prehistoric times. People arrived and wham! desert. Its still expanding today, one of the fastest-growing deserts in the world. Because, people. The Namib is indeed old. Its also almost the smallest desert - #25 on a list of 27 worldwide. So lets grant an exception there.
• dirkg 10y ago
  I wish more people would donate to them. So many tech billionaires, you'd think at least one of them would be aware and not mind spending what amounts to loose pocket change for them to preserve information.