In the course of history, there have been some clear boundaries between time periods. For those who experienced them, life was changed completely.

The transition from a hunter-gatherer society to an agricultural society was one such boundary. Another was the discovery of iron.

Some of the first iron in Norway was produced here, where you now stand, 2,200 years ago.

Iron weapons and tools

The ability to transform bog-iron into iron weapons and tools became known in Norway in the first centuries BC.  

Those who controlled early iron production became the owners of powerful knowledge.

This knowledge resulted in real power, in the form of more powerful weapons and better tools, and also gave the owner important symbolic power.

The Åker Find

Here, in the area around Åkersvika, there have been a large number of important archaeological finds from the Roman Period and throughout the rest of the Iron Age and into the Viking Age.

The highlights, which show the area’s position of power, are especially the famous Åker Find, including the Åker belt buckle from the Merovingian Period, and later the establishment of the Eidsiva Thing.

Could the early knowledge about the production of iron have contributed to the growth of the powerful chieftain’s seat at Åker?