When you say it's a lost art, do you mean the old method is no longer possible, or just that no one knows for sure how to do it anymore? If it's the latter, recovering that information seems like it should be Priority #1 to me. Actually, if it's the former, figuring out a new method should be Priority #1 anyway.

[ This is what she means about people getting too caught up on restoring the past to find a way forward!! ]