Tostorethetablets,helookedtoa
localsaltmine,ina 4.5metre-high
cavernabout1.6kilometresdeepin
themountain.Geolog ydictatesthat
thearchivewillslowlyriseuponsalt
crystalsthroughthemountainto
thesurface.Theownersofthemine
lovedtheidea.
They weren’t alone. Claudia
Theune,a professorofarchaeolog y
attheUniversityofVienna,offered
inputaboutwhatmightmakethe
MOMarchivemostusefultofuture
generations.ThomasGrill,anAus-
triansoundartistandresearcher,
approachedMartintofigureout
awaytoschematicallyrepresent
soundsona ceramictablet.
Collaborativebynature,Martin
keptreachingout,tolinguists,an-
thropologists,spaceexperts,inan
attempttobroadenthescopeofhis
archiveandincreasethechances
ofitssuccess.Soonhewasbeing
invitedtoconferences,deliveringa
TEDTalkinLinzandspeakingatthe
FutureFestConferenceinLondon.
“Ialwayshavetoemphasisethat
thisisnota doomsday project,” said
Martin.
ONA NOVEMBER AFTERNOON,
MartinandI drovetotheSaltzwelten
(SaltWorlds)mine,locatedina pic-
turesquevillageknownasHallstatt.
Oneoftheoldestknownsaltminesin
theworld,itdatesback 7000 yearsor
more.Inearlytimes,saltprovidedthe
regionwithunprecedented wealth,
giventhecentralityofthemineralas
a preservative,a spiceandcurrency.
Thepeopleatthemine,whichis
stillactive,seemedtoknowMar-
tinandhegotwavedthroughto
thefunicular.Atthetopofthelift,
wewalkedthroughathickmistto
anopeninginthemountain,and
climbedona longpieceofpolished
woodwithwoodenseatbacks–a
motorised,trolley-likevehicle.A
minerthrewa switch,andwelurched
intotheblack,ourheadsnearly
brushingtheceiling.Eventuallywe
burstintoa litcavern.
ThebossesatSaltzweltenhave
givenMartinhisowncorner,where
he’sstackedabout 50 cratesoftablets.
Toursoftheminerunpastthespot,
butit wouldbeeasytomissthewhole
thingbutfora placardonthewall,
announcingthatthisistheMemo-
ryofMankindProject.“Abreathof
immortalityforeveryone,”it read.
Itseemedimpossibletothinkthe
crateswouldeverbefound.Butwhy
not?AsMartinwasquicktopoint
out,historyislitteredwithceramics.
IfnotforsomeMartininthepastand
histablets,wewouldn’tknowhow
muchtheSumerianslovedtheirbeer,
normuchaboutthehistoryofmaths.
Martinlifteddownacrateand
startedrif ling throughthetiles,
whichmadea clickingsound.Some
hadimages,somehadpinchedtext
thatwashardtoread.
Theprocessofmakingatablet
is relatively simple. In his shop,64 Augus t 2019
READER’S DIGEST