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+# History Recovery Log
+
+## 2026-07-02 - Incubator research history bridge
+
+This repository previously had substantial research work recorded on `codex/incubator-local-cleanup` / PR #5, but that branch used a separate history root and was never merged into `main`.
+
+This recovery records that branch as reachable repository history without replacing the current `main` tree. The merge uses the current `main` content as the controlling file state, while preserving the incubator branch ancestry for audit and contribution history.
+
+What this does:
+
+- connects the incubator research commits to the main repository history
+- avoids reintroducing destructive deletions, raw asset drift, or duplicate path drift from the old branch
+- keeps PR #10 as the current content recovery batch
+- leaves detailed content reconciliation for later scoped recovery passes
+
+What this does not do:
+
+- it does not promote all old incubator files as current source of truth
+- it does not re-enable deleted/raw `uet_history` assets as website input
+- it does not replace topic manifests, gates, or update logs
+
+Controlling state after this bridge:
+
+- file tree: current `main`
+- recovered ancestry: `codex/incubator-local-cleanup`
+- content recovery reference: `LOCAL_RECOVERY_MANIFEST.md`