From ancient Pompeii to burial mounds in the Caucasus in just a few clicks

Hinweis zur Verwendung von Bildmaterial: Die Verwendung des Bildmaterials zur Pressemitteilung ist bei Nennung der Quelle vergütungsfrei gestattet. Das Bildmaterial darf nur in Zusammenhang mit dem Inhalt dieser Pressemitteilung verwendet werden. Falls Sie das Bild in höherer Auflösung benötigen oder Rückfragen zur Weiterverwendung haben, wenden Sie sich bitte direkt an die Pressestelle, die es veröffentlicht hat.

The first access to the ROOTS projects in the interactive ROOTS Compass is geographical. A globe shows where in the world the Cluster of Excellence is conducting research | Copyright: © Cluster ROOTS | Download

What do Neolithic settlements in present-day Serbia have to do with deserted medieval towns in North Rhine-Westphalia? What connects tribal languages in north-east India with burial mounds in the Caucasus? One answer is: these topics - and many more - are being investigated by researchers within the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence at Kiel University in order to trace the complex interconnections between human societies, the environment and culture since the Stone Age. A new internet portal now offers a comprehensive and interactive insight into the wide variety of ROOTS topics and projects and thus into current research on the human past. The portal is now available at www.roots-compass.org.

Virtual globe offers geographical overview

The first entry point into the Cluster of Excellence's research is geographically via a virtual globe. ‘Anyone who investigates the basic processes of human societies, as we do, has to work internationally. The globe view in the ROOTS Compass shows this very clearly. At the same time, the view familiar from other large portals invites you to go on a virtual exploration tour,’ says archaeologist Prof Dr Johannes Müller, speaker of the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence.

A timeline allows the topics covered in ROOTS to be filtered chronologically. Anyone who is primarily interested in antiquity, the Middle Ages or the Bronze Age can select an individualised section from the range of ROOTS topics.
Other filters allow users to select projects by topic, method or scientific discipline. Cross-references to all filter options for each project also invite users to follow new paths through the ROOTS research.

Numerous filters show interdisciplinary connections

The filters also serve to emphasise the linkages between what at first glance appear to be very different projects, specialist areas, topics or approaches.
‘Colleagues from the humanities, natural sciences, life sciences, engineering and computer science are involved in ROOTS. Many individual projects employ methods as diverse as the study of written sources, excavations, geophysical prospections, analysis of isotope ratios or ancient DNA as well as computer modelling and philosophical reflections. The ROOTS Compass shows this diversity and playfully opens up the complex world of our research into the human past,’ says Dr Andrea Ricci, the scientific coordinator responsible for public relations.

The ‘ROOTS Compass’ has been realised with multimedia designer Anke Tornow and software developer Frederik Jatzkowski from Halle. Anke Tornow previously created the ‘Mythoscope’, an interactive online portal on the world of ancient myths, in cooperation with the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. ‘ROOTS is a very exciting, but also very complex large-scale project. I have learnt a lot while working on the ROOTS Compass. With the portal, we are making research even more accessible for experts and interested people in general,’ she says.

Built-in expansion options for the presentation of future research

Of course, research is not static. Based on the results to date, the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence is currently applying for a second seven-year funding phase from 2026. At the same time, plans are being made for the interdisciplinary ARCWorlds centre at Kiel University. It will bring together under one roof all research activities on human-environment dynamics over the past 12,000 years, from the late Stone Age to the end of the pre-modern era.

‘The concept and technology of the ROOTS Compass have been deliberately designed in such a way that we can easily integrate future topics and projects. Additional filter options and functions are also possible. The portal can therefore grow with our work and hopefully serve as a showcase for research into the human past at Kiel University in the long term,’ emphasises archaeologist Prof. Dr Martin Furholt, speaker for the ROOTS 2 application.

Wissenschaftlicher Ansprechpartner:
Dr. Andrea Ricci
Cluster of Excellence ROOTS
Phone.: +49 431 880-3372
aricci@roots.uni-kiel.de

Weitere Informationen:
http://www.cluster-roots.org Der Exzellenzcluster RwOOTS
http://www.roots-compass.org The ROOTS Compass