The investigations of the NIhK is traditionally accompanied by a scientific advisory board that meets once a year at the institute and informs itself about the institute's current research. This committee, set up by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK), includes internationally recognized experts in geography, geology, archaeology, botany and history, on the one hand to advise and support the institute's employees and, on the other hand, to provide first-hand information to the ministry to report on the investigations carried out at the NIhK. In this year the members of the scientific advisory board also took the opportunity not only to talk directly to the researchers in their offices and laboratories, but also to gain an impression of the institute's various comparative collections, which make it possible to carry out archaeological research To identify finds recovered from excavations - be they made of clay, glass, metal, plant fibers or wool - and to classify them in cultural and historical terms aiming to gain new information about their significance in the life of the respective societies. In the Final Meeting, the member of the scientific advisory board were impressed by the thematic diversity and quality of the research carried out at the NIhK and wished the institute much success in carrying out its numerous projects.