Ingrid Ystgaard

Ingrid Ystgaard is an Associate Professor in the Department of Historical and Classical Studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Faculty of Humanities. Her research focuses on social dynamics, environmental archaeology, and settlement patterns in the Iron Age (500 BCE–1000 CE), with particular attention to warfare, material culture, and human-environment interactions. She led archaeological excavations at Ørland Air Base (2015–2019), uncovering Early Iron Age and Viking Age settlements. Ystgaard earned her PhD in Archaeology from NTNU in 2014, analyzing warfare in Central Norway through weapon grave and fort analysis. She has extensive field experience in Norway and Roman Egypt.

Her educational background includes a PhD in Archaeology (2014) and an MSc thesis on bygdeborger (village forts) in Trøndelag (1998). She teaches courses on archaeology, material culture, and methodological theory at NTNU.

Research interests emphasize Iron Age social hierarchies, mobility, and environmental adaptation. Her work combines interdisciplinary methods like pollen analysis, radiocarbon dating, and geophysical surveys. Recent publications explore open access publishing in archaeology, Iron Age settlement organization, and environmental interactions at coastal sites.

Ystgaard advises bachelor and master students on archaeological methods, theory, and historical periods. She collaborates with international institutions and actively disseminates findings through public lectures, podcasts, and media outlets. Key projects include excavations at Ørland and analysis of the 536 CE climate crisis's impact on settlements.