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The Macedonians had laid their king out in his cereold The Persian silk that once one, rotted away after nearly twenty-four centuries All that was left of the great subject of roend were his bones

"Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, all stood and gazed at his remains," lectured Lily

Each took his Turn, hardly able to conceive what lay beneath their eyes

Then Lily led theallery

Nearly a hundred people were hard at work Several were exaallery's center

Paintings, stained and soiled, but restorable, along with delicate objects carved froold, silver or bronze were catalogued and repacked in new cases for transport to a secure building complex in Maryland for restoration and preservation

Most of the archaeologists, translators and preservation experts were gently handling the bronze cylindrical tubes that held the thousands of ancient books, translating the copper tags and recording descriptions of the contents The containers and their delicate scrolls were also carefully packed for shipment to Maryland for study and research

"Here it is" Lily gestured around the chamber proudly "So far we've found the coreat Greek philosophers, early Hebreritings, ht on Christianity Maps illustrating previously unknown to centers, including Tarshish and Sheba, and geological charts of aps in ancient chronological events will be filled The history of the Phoericians, Mycenaeans, Etruscans, and civifintions that were only rumored to exist, they're all here and accounted for in vivid detail If restorable, the paintings will give us a true Picture of what the immortals of the ancient world looked like"

for ato say He was nuest the i accumulation

As art, it was priceless As knowledge, its value was incalculable

Finally, he asked in a hushed voice, "How long before you'll be finished here?"

"We'll move the scrolls first, then the artwork," replied Lily "The sculptures will go last Working around the clock, we hope to have the passage and gallery emptied and the entire collection safely in Maryland by New Year's"

"Almost sixty days," said Sandecker

"And the translation of the scrolls?" Lily shrugged "That preservation is the slow part Depending on budget restrictions, we're looking at anywhere between twenty and fifty years toof e have"

"Don't worry about funding," said the President excitedly the project will have the highest priority I'll see to that"