Archaeological excavations
The University museum is each year conducting archaeological excavations to secure and document the remains of the past, before they are removed by development, roads and other and construction projects.
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Two thirds of the excavations are finansed by public contractors. Only one to two percent of the costs of major development projects are used for archaeological excavations. The excavations gives us new and important knowledge about the norwegian prehistory through the last 12000 years.
The excavations are done by professional and experienced archaologists and archaeology students, borth from Norway and from abroad. We also use specialists from other sciences, i.e. pollen analysis and osteology. The excavations are usually conducted between april and october.
Find and objects, and collected scientific samples are catalogued, analysed and conserved. Dokumentation and artefacts end up in the museums's archives and collections, and avaliable for further research and publication. Most of the excavations arrange guided tours and are open for schoolclasses, local history clubs and the general interested public. At the bigger excavations projects we are usually arranging "Open days" where the excavations are open to the public. These arrangement are announced in the local press and on social media beforehand. Most of our excavations are usually covered by the traditional media, but are also present on the web/social media.
