Archaeology

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Uncertain future for rock art in Norway

Regular protective treatment of rock carvings and paintings has done a good job protecting this important part of Norway’s cultural heritage. But according to the current schedule, the unique programme will end next year.

From royal crown to a crown of thorns

Church art from the Middle Ages reflects the dramatic societal changes that were underway during this period. Artists changed the way they depicted Christ from a regal figure with a crown of gold to a suffering Christ with a crown of thorns.

Using new technology to find shipwrecks on the ocean floor

An estimated three million shipwrecks lie in seabed graveyards around the world – with as many as 1000 of them around Svalbard. Each of them has their own unique story — one that’s made much more accessible with new technology.

Cheerful Madonna with a lot of bling

A Madonna figure from Grong municipality is one of the best preserved and special church sculptures in Norway from the Middle Ages. She looks like a sweet, friendly girl who’s been asked to model for the sculpture.

How forgetting about Middle Age treasures saved them

One of Scandinavia’s finest collections of church art from the Middle Ages lay hidden and forgotten in Norwegian churches for centuries. Indeed, this long forgetting is precisely what preserved the unique church art.

So what is “gand” sorcery – really?

Some people may have heard about the magical phenomenon of gand. When life seems to be against you or you’re plagued by one misfortune after another, you might jokingly say that you’ve been ‘ganda’ if you’re Norwegian. But what did gand really look like and why do we associate it with the Sami people?

What the Vikings put in their pillows

Not too many people are able to identify birds by examining a single feather. But a number of folks need to know that sort of thing, and it can actually save lives.

Mystery in the bear cave

The oldest known bear bones from northern Scandinavia have been discovered in a limestone cave. But the cave also contained a mystery.

Archaeological finds unearthed on the fly

What was supposed to be a simple excavation to allow for the expansion of a church cemetery turned into a treasure trove of historic artefacts, including a decorative fitting from a book “imported” by Vikings from Ireland.

Vikings conquer Disney World

Disney World wants to showcase archaeological artefacts from the NTNU University Museum for millions of Florida visitors.

Brewing Viking beer — with stones

When archaeologist Geir Grønnesby dug test pits at 24 different farms in central Norway, he nearly always found thick layers of fire-cracked stones dating from the Viking Age and earlier. Long ago, Norwegians brewed beer using stones.