Mobile augmented reality can make archaeological remains that are difficult or impossible to see easier to understand by showing how they relate to the landscape around them.
At Lofotr Viking Museum at Borg in Lofoten, many traces of the Viking Age lie hidden below ground or remain only as fragments. This makes it difficult for visitors to imagine what once stood there and how people lived in and used the landscape. Mobile augmented reality (AR) can bring these traces into view by placing digital reconstructions, objects and activities in the places where they may once have been. In this way, AR can connect the landscape visitors see today with what archaeologists know about the past.
AR does not need advanced technology or highly realistic reconstructions to make the past easier to understand. What matters is how the digital content relates to the physical place, visitors’ movement through the landscape, archaeological knowledge and the story being told.
AR can also communicate what we do not know about the past. By showing different possible reconstructions rather than a single version, it can make different archaeological interpretations visible and show how our understanding of the past can change.
Mobile AR also offers a way to interpret protected archaeological sites without physically altering them. It can bring together the landscape, archaeological remains, reconstructions and stories about the past, allowing visitors to experience traces of the past where they once existed.
The trial lecture and public defence will be streamed on Zoom
Trial lecture
Designated topic: Authenticity and scientific uncertainties in digital experience of archaeological museums and sites: theoretical perspectives and critical assessments.
Time and place: Monday 2 November 2026, 10:15 AM, Forum i Forskningsparken
Evaluation committee
- Professor emeritus Jay Bolter, Georgia Institute of Technology (first opponent)
- Professor Dagny Stuedahl, OsloMet (second opponent)
- Professor Liv Hausken, University of Oslo (commitee administrator)
Chair of the defence
Supervisors
- Professor Gunnar Liestøl, University of Oslo
- Professor Gørill Nilsen, The Arctic University of Norway