Forty-nine small excavation holes have been discovered at a protected cultural heritage site in Åndalsnes, prompting an active police investigation into suspected violations of Norway’s Cultural Heritage Act, NRK reported.
The unauthorized digging at Kamshaugen, part of the Kammen burial ground, was uncovered on November 8, 2026. Investigators determined that six of the 49 test pits lie directly within the legally protected zone of the historic site.
State-secured recreational grounds surround the burial mounds in central Åndalsnes. Warning signs mark the boundaries of the heritage area, though one sign near the affected sector was temporarily removed for replacement at the time of the incident.
Møre og Romsdal County Council formally reported the case to law enforcement. Archaeologist Kristoffer Dahle said that the burial ground is widely known despite the missing sign.
– It is serious that searches have been carried out in and by the burial grounds, Kristoffer Dahle, archaeologist at Møre og Romsdal County Council, told NRK.
Police narrowed the window of the unauthorized digging to a four-day period between November 5 and November 8, 2026, according to VG.
Investigators urge anyone with information regarding unusual activity on Kamshaugen during those dates to submit tips through the official police portal at politiet.no. Authorities also appealed directly to the individuals responsible to come forward.
– We ask for tips from anyone who may have seen people, activity or other unusual movement on Kamshaugen in the period, police attorney Sandra Grøtta Krakeli wrote in a press statement published by smp.no.
The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime categorizes cultural environment offenses as a priority area. Bygg.no said that the county council filed the formal complaint under the Cultural Heritage Act.
The Kammen burial ground comprises multiple ancient graves, including a larger mound in one section and three smaller mounds in another. Because formal archaeological excavations have not taken place at these specific mounds, researchers date them broadly to the Iron Age.
A curved knife dating back approximately 1,500 years to the Migration Period was previously recovered near one of the burial mounds. Archaeologists note that such tools were historically used for processing hides and skins.
– Our cultural monuments are an important source of knowledge about our history. When such traces are destroyed, we lose information that can never be recreated, Krakeli told Sunnmørsposten.
- Violations of the Cultural Heritage Act are treated as serious environmental and cultural crimes by the Norwegian police and the National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime.
- Test pits, or prøvestikk, are small exploratory holes dug to locate subsurface archaeological layers or artifacts. In this investigation, authorities recorded a total of 49 such holes across the broader recreational area and the protected precinct.
- Møre og Romsdal County Council oversees regional cultural heritage management and filed the initial report regarding the unauthorized digging in Rauma municipality.
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