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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
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→M41: Imperial Awareness
=====M41: Imperial Awareness=====
At least several centuries prior to the Imperial's first proper awareness of the Necrons, Imperial [[Explorator]] archeologists had known of the ancient race of the [[Necrontyr]]. To At the time, to Imperials, the Nectontyr were simply just a technically advanced alien empire that had spanned the galaxy tens of millions of years ago, but of which little remained. Any surface structures had long since crumbled to dust and been eroded by time, but they had discovered some ancient tomb structures buried beneath the sands. None of these initial tomb complexes encountered by Imperial Explorators were intact examples - all they had encountered and managed to record were ruinous and empty, what content they contained or if they had been plundered unclear. It was known however that this race had vanished at least 65 million years ago, when ancient [[Terra]] was still a great pre-historic jungle and the evolution of mankind was still millions of years away. Thus, this discovered Necontyr race was of little interest to those outside the dusty offices of the [[Explorator Archeos]], simply cataloged among a thousand other dead and forgotten alien civilizations.{{fn|59}}
[[Image:Explorator Report Necron Remains White Dwarf 217 (UK) pg28.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<sup>Early Inquisitorial report on the newfound Necron threat.{{fn|59}}</sup>]]
The first reported contact between the Necrons and the [[Imperium]] of Man came in 897.[[M41]] during the raid on [[Sanctuary 101]]. The report specifies that the invaders might have emerged from the ground itself.{{Fn|3}} Another early instance was the destruction of the hermitage on [[Adric IV]]. It would be raids such as these which would prompt further investigation by the [[Inquisition]]{{fn|59}}, particularly by individuals such as [[Inquisitor]] [[Hoth]] who would himself investigate these twin raids.{{fn|1e}}{{fn|59}} The Inquisition, and by extension the Imperium, would soon realize that the Necrons possessed technology that could disrupt Imperial recording devices, and many places that had simply been marked as "destroyed by raiders unknown" with no trace of the attackers were now very likely linked to this new threat, ultimately leading the Imperium to now finally be aware of the Necron menace.{{fn|59}}
