Arne Abel Stamnes

Arne Abel Stamnes is an archaeologist and has been employed at NIKU as a Researcher II since April 2025. Prior to that, Arne worked as a Researcher at the NTNU University Museum from 2017.

Arne primarily works with geophysical surveys and is responsible for leading and developing various research projects and external assignments both nationally and internationally. His academic background includes a master’s degree in predictive modelling for agricultural settlement in the Early Iron Age, an MSc in Archaeological Prospection from the University of Bradford in England, and a PhD from NTNU in 2016 on the application of archaeological geophysics in Norwegian archaeology.

His main areas of expertise and current research interests lie in landscape archaeology, geographic modelling, and the use of geophysical surveys as tools in both research and heritage management.

Through current and previous engagements, Arne has participated in and led research projects in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the USA, Ghana, and the United Arab Emirates. Most recently, from 2021 to 2025, Arne held a mobility grant from the Research Council of Norway in collaboration with the National Museum of Denmark, Aarhus University, and the NTNU University Museum. The project, titled “Past Coast – Moving archaeology to a 4D-science: A novel interdisciplinary approach to the study of resilience in prehistoric marine coastal environments”, combined studies of metal detector finds, geophysical surveys, GIS modelling, and paleo-landscape studies of coastal archaeological sites.

As a continuation of this work, Arne is participating in several research projects in Denmark in 2025 and 2026, including research on the militarisation of Bornholm in collaboration with the National Museum of Denmark, Bornholm Museum, and Moesgaard Museum, as well as investigations in and around Gammel Lejre in Denmark in cooperation with Roskilde Museum and the National Museum of Denmark.