Archaeology at IHK covers a wide range of periods and research subjects, stretching from the Stone Age to contemporary archaeology. A unifying factor is a focus on material culture and its influence on human life and activity. We work using various methodological and theoretical perspectives to study the interactions between human beings, things, landscapes, and ideas. As archaeologists, we can examine questions of this type across vast stretches of time. While much of the group’s research activity is focused on finds and locations from Central Norway, we also have international collaborations with several institutions in Europe, the United States, and Canada.

Our thematic emphasis includes contemporary archaeology, with a focus on major conflicts of the 19th and 20th centuries; maritime archaeology; climate change and its consequences for cultural heritage in the coastal zone and the Arctic; glacial archaeology and climate change; mountain archaeology with an emphasis on the South Sami area; Scandinavian rock art from the Stone and Bronze Ages in Central Norway; settlements, vegetation and climate in the Iron Age; warfare and political organization from the Iron Age to the Viking Age; and others.

We offer project supervision at all levels. We are active in several research and development projects directed by, among others, the Research Council of Norway, the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HKDIR), ERC and HERA. Our principal collaborators are the Department of Archaeology and Cultural History, the NTNU University Museum, the Department of Geography, NTNU, the Falstad Centre, Saemien Sijte, the Museum of Cultural History at University of Oslo, the University Museum of Bergen and the Museum of Archaeology at the University of Stavanger.

The menu to the left shows the Department's active research groups in archaeology; a selection of research projects can be found below.