EXHIBITION HALL 2023
Archeology and Anarchy An exhibition about Eiker as an Iron Age seat of power This is an exhibition about the people who have metal detecting as a hobby, and what this form of heritage preservation can contribute to our understanding of local, regional, and national history. It is also an exhibition about how the discovery of an Iron Age seat of power at Sem became part of a wider discussion of the legality of metal detecting as a hobby and how well-versed detectorists are in heritage law. Between 2013 and 2023, some 700 objects, structures, graves, as well as traces of buildings and complexes, were collected and documented. Thanks to the combined efforts of property owners, authorities, and the public, Sem and Semsletta have gone from being an archaeological backwater to become the region with the highest number of finds made by metal detector in the whole country. These are finds which throw fresh light on previously known archaeological finds from Eiker, placing them in a new and exciting context.
The exhibition is a collaborative project between Viken County Council, Veien Kulturminnepark, the Museum of Cultural History, and Øvre Eiker Municipality. Financial support that has helped us realise the project has come from Sparebankstiftelsen DNB, Viken County Council, and Øvre Eiker Municipality. Welcome to the first archeological exhibition in Eiker!
Bernt-Egil Tafjord (Project Manager) Øvre Eiker Municipality