From the site: "The reconstruction of the complex interactions between nature and civilisation requires interdisciplinary cooperation between humanities, engineering science and natural sciences. Only on this basis our understanding of the old world can be extended by the so far often neglected social-ecological aspects.
One way to achieve this goal is through the study of micro-regions, which are not only geographically defined, but also show common cultural networks and economic cycles. Ancient Pergamon and the surrounding landscape in north-western Turkey provide a good example. For 140 years, archaeologists have been working here together with numerous other disciplines under the aegis of the German Archaeological Institute and with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey to explore the metropolis."