I have researched landscapes and resource utilization in rural areas during the Late Iron Age and the Middle Ages, with a connection to trade and urban communities. The main focus has been on large-scale production aimed at long-distance trade and various forms of transactions, where different types of quarries and stone products have served as proxies for resource utilization and trade. Maritime networks are being investigated, and the archaeological material is studied in relation to social, economic, and socio-political conditions in a long-term perspective. My work is largely based on method development and extensive interdisciplinary collaboration with various geological environments.

Another topic I am interested in is the transition between paganism and Christianity. Interdisciplinary GIS-based landscape studies and a broad range of sources are used to investigate how the mechanisms between central areas in the Viking Age, the development of the medieval Kingdom, and the early medieval churches have functioned.

Conference lecture

• Irene Baug (2021). Eidsborgbryner – frå fjerne utmarksområder til sentrale marknadar. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2024). Whetstones from Mostadmarka - outfield resources with far-reaching importance. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2019). Gulatinget sett i eit arkeologisk lys. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2017). Steinkrossane på Vestlandet - markering av makt og kristendom?. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2022). Viking Age urbanisation and long-distance trade. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2006). Bergverksdrift i yngre jernalder og middelalder. Presentasjon av et forskningsprosjekt. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2023). Vestlandet og kontakten over Nordsjøen. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2016). Brynesteinshandel i vikingtid og mellomalder – Distribusjon, transaksjonsformer og nettverk i eit langtidsperspektiv. (external link)
• Øystein James Jansen; Irene Baug (2019). Borgund’s role in national distribution networks for the trade in-, and consumption of Norwegian whetstones. (external link)
• Irene Baug; Torbjørn Løland (2009). The geologist, the archaeologist and the craftsman – an interdisciplinary research in quernstone quarries in Hyllestad in Western Norway. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2018). Vikings in Ireland and their influence on Scandinavian society. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2024). Whetstone trade - connecting people and places. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2025). Resource exploitation and trade in small- and larger- scale networks. (external link)
• Irene Baug; Øystein James Jansen (2004). Whetstones from Borgund and national distribution networks. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2024). Handel og nettverk i vikingtid og mellomalder. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2025). Hogget i stein – tverrfagleg samarbeid i studie av produksjon og handel med ulike steinprodukt. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2023). Viking Age urbanisation and long-distance trade. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2017). Whetstones in Ribe - commodities from Norway?. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2005). Soapstone artefacts from Kaupang. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2019). A world of stone – distribution and trade of whetstones in the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2021). Borgund’s role in national distribution networks for the trade in-, and consumption of Norwegian whetstones. (external link)

Media interview

• Irene Baug (2006). Leitar etter tidsspor. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2006). Intervju i NRK Sogn og Fjordane. (external link)
• Øystein James Jansen; Irene Baug (2019). UiB-forskarar har funne ut kvifor vikingane reiste vestover. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2008). Den kristne kunstindustrien vaknar. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2008). Fann steinkrossar frå mellomalderen. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2008). Funn av steinkrossar i Hyllestad. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2020). Tilbake til middelalderen. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2022). Slike steiner er trolig noe av det første vikingene solgte til utlandet. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2008). Unike funn frå vikingtida. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2024). Kyrkjer i Bergen du aldri har sett. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2022). Forskningsdagane i gong i Bergen. (external link)
• Irene Baug; Gitte Hansen; Hilde Genberg (2009). Fekk sjå steinkrossane. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2008). Industrieventyret i Vikingtida. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2008). Fann vikingkrossar i Hyllestad. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2022). Every Viking owned a stone like this - and they traded massive quantities of them too.. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2022). Slike steiner er trolig noe av det første vikingene solgte til utlandet. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2020). Informasjon om mellomalderen i Bergen, og mellomalderveka 2020.. (external link)
• Irene Baug; Gitte Hansen; Per Bygnes et al. (2009). God start på kulturminneåret. (external link)
• Irene Baug; Gitte Hansen; Vegar Volle (2009). Unike steinkrossfunn presenterte i Hyllestad. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2008). Fann steinkrossar frå mellomalderen. (external link)
• Sarah Dunn; Gitte Hansen; Irene Baug et al. (2022). Uncovering the secrets of a Forgotten Viking Town. (external link)

Lecture

• Irene Baug (2022). Skandinavia i vikingtid - handel, nettverk og plyndring. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2023). Vikingtidas begynning - handel og plyndring. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2024). Bergen 1320 - Time travel with modern technology. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2009). Produksjon av steinkrossar i Hyllestad. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2014). Vegen vidare – nye prosjekt og formidling av kvernsteinshistoria. (external link)
• Irene Baug; Øystein James Jansen (2024). Hones in Borgund, trade networks. (external link)
• Irene Baug; Øystein James Jansen (2013). Arkeologi+Geologi=Sant. Erfaringer fra et tverrfaglig forskningsprosjekt. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2019). Mellomalderklynga - samt litt om Alrekstad og vikingtid. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2009). Produksjon av steinkrossar i Hyllestad. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2018). Det grå gullet – stein som handelsvare i middelalderens Bergen. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2020). Bergen Anno 1320. Bli med tilbake til middelalderens Bergen. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2009). Steinbrot og steinkrossar. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2024). Steinkrossane frå Hyllestad. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2024). Stein som husholdsprodukt og handelsvare i middelalderens Bergen. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2006). Med arkeolog og geolog i steinhoggarane sine fotefar tusen år etter. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2014). Historical overview of the quernstone quarry landscape. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2005). Stein som handelsvare. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2014). Delimitation of the nominated properties and the buffer zone. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2015). Archaeology and Geology - Cooperation with exciting results. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2017). Bakstehellene - produksjon og handel. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2019). Trønderske bryner gir ny kunnskap om handel og plyndringar i vikingtid. (external link)

Popular science article

• Irene Baug (2008). Steinkrossbrotet i Hyllestad. (external link)
• Irene Baug; Øystein James Jansen (2012). I Vesterled - på jakt etter norsk kvernstein. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2017). Bakstehellene - masseproduksjon, hushaldsprodukt og handelsvarer frå mellomalderen. (external link)

Academic book chapter

• Irene Baug (2018). Foodways, traditions and identity: Bakestones in the North Atlantic. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2006). Stein som handelsvare. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2015). Stones for Bread. Regional Differences and Changes in Scandinavian Food Traditions Related to the Use of Quernstones, Bakestones and Soapstone Vessels c. 850-1500. (external link)
• Irene Baug; Dagfinn Skre; Torkil Sørlie Røhr et al. (2023). Whetstones and touchstones. (external link)
• Irene Baug; Øystein James Jansen (2014). Did the North Atlantic region constitute a market for quernstones from Norway during the Viking Age and the Middle Ages?. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2006). The Quarries in Hyllestad - Production of Quernstones and Millstones in Western Norway. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2017). Soapstone vessels and quernstones as commodities in the Viking Age and Middle Ages. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2011). Soapstone Finds. (external link)
• Irene Baug; Torbjørn Løland (2011). The millstone quarries in Hyllestad: an arena of research and education. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2007). Prehistoric Quarrying on the west coast of Norway - the production of quernstones, millstones and crosses in Hyllestd, Sogn og Fjordane. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2022). Brynesteinsproduksjonen i Eidsborg - frå steinbrot til marknad. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2022). Outland exploitation and long-distance trade AD 700–1200 – seen in the light of whetstone production and distribution. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2017). Bakestones - Production and Trade in the Middle Ages. (external link)
• Gitte Hansen; Irene Baug; Steven P. Ashby (2015). Everyday products in the Middle Ages: Crafts, Consumption and the Individual in Northern Europe c. AD 800-1600: An Introduction. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2015). Actors in quarrying. Production and distribution of quernstones and bakestones during the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. (external link)

Non-fiction book chapter

• Irene Baug (2015). Lavik som kyrkjestad i mellomalderen. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2013). Steinbrota i Ølve - ei klosterdriven verksemd?. (external link)

Academic article

• Irene Baug; Dagfinn Skre; Tom Heldal et al. (2018). The beginning of the Viking Age in the West. (external link)
• Irene Baug; Wojciech Filipowiak; Øystein James Jansen et al. (2024). Norse Whetstones in Slavic Areas - Indicators of Long-Distance Networks During the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. (external link)
• Irene Baug; Dagfinn Skre; Torkil Sørlie Røhr et al. (2025). Viking Age economics: implications of industrial commodity production. (external link)
• Irene Baug; Tom Heldal; Øystein James Jansen et al. (2020). Brynesteiner i Ribe – fra fjerne utmarksområder til sentrale markeder. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2016). Lokalsamfunn, regionar og nettverk i mellomalderen - ulike arkeologiske tilnærmingar. (external link)

Podcast

• Irene Baug (2025). Fjernhandel i vikingtiden. (external link)

Exhibition production

• Irene Baug (2014). Den historiske Vestlandskysten. (external link)

Radio or TV participation

• Irene Baug (2014). Die Frauen der Wikinger. (external link)
• Irene Baug; Silje Kristin Guddal (2015). God ettermiddag Sogn og Fjordane. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2019). God ettermiddag Sogn og Fjordane. Distriktsprogram - NRK Sogn og Fjordane.. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2019). Det umulige landet. (external link)
• Jan Henrik Ihlebæk; Gitte Hansen; Irene Baug (2015). Museum. Vanlige folk i middelalderen. (external link)

Academic monograph

• Irene Baug (2015). Quarrying in Western Norway. An archaeological study of production and distribution in the Viking period and Middle Ages. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2002). Kvernsteinsbrota i Hyllestad. Arkeologiske punktundersøkingar i steinbrotsområdet i Hyllestad i sogn og Fjordane. (external link)

Conference poster

• Irene Baug; Øystein James Jansen (2015). Stone for Bread and Church. (external link)
• Irene Baug; Meinrad Pohl (2018). Reformation before 1537? Transition of ecclesiastical property in Norway into the hands of the nobility.. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2018). Stone crosses in Norway – manifestation of power and Christianity?. (external link)

Book anthology

• Irene Baug; Sigrid Samset Mygland; Janicke Larsen (2015). Nordic Middle Ages - Artefacts, Landscapes and Society. Essays in Honour of Ingvild Øye on her 70th Birthday.. (external link)
• Gitte Hansen; Steven P. Ashby; Irene Baug (2015). Everyday Products in the Middle Ages: Crafts, Consumption and the Individual in Northern Europe c. AD 800-1600. (external link)

Research report

• Irene Baug (2014). Hyllestad quernstone quarries. Management plan 2012-2015. UNESCO World Heritage List. Viking Age Sites in Northern Europe. Prepared by the working group for World Heritage status for Hyllestad quernstone quarries. (external link)
• Lars Holger Pilø; Irene Baug; Steinar Kristensen et al. (2003). Kaupang-undersøkelsen 2000-2002. Innberetning fra hovedundersøkelsen, Søndre Kaupang, 1012/9 og 10, Larvik kommune, Vestfold.. (external link)

Journal review

• Irene Baug (2015). Bokanmelding: Live Johannesen og Jan-Erik G. Eriksson (Red.) Faglig program for middelalderarkeologi. Byer, sakrale steder, befestninger og borger. Riksantikvaren.. (external link)

Popular science book chapter

• Irene Baug; Tom Heldal (2024). Eidsborg. Bryneberget. (external link)
• Irene Baug (2024). Det grå gullet. (external link)

Master’s thesis

• Gitte Hansen; Martine Førland Engvik; Irene Baug et al. (2023). A bakestones journey to Borgund. An archaeological study of Borgund’s role in the trade of bakestones in Western Norway between the 11th and 16th century. (external link)

Doctoral thesis (PhD)

• Irene Baug (2013). Quarrying in Western Norway – An archaeological study of production and distribution in the Viking period and the Middle Ages. (external link)

See a complete overview of publications in Cristin.

WHEPP the Whetstone Provenancing Project. The aim  is to explore AD 1st–9th-century trade routes and networks involving the western Scandinavian Peninsula. This will be achieved by provenancing whetstones retrieved from well-dated archaeological sites in Scandinavia, in the Baltic, and along the southern North Sea and English Channel coasts. This is an interdisciplinary and interinstitutionally collaboration between UiB, UiO and NGU - as well as some foreign researchers that are attached to parts of the project. WHEPP is financed by The Avaldsnes Royal Manor Project, University of Oslo.

The Borgund Kaupang Project. Life and death of a small town in the periphery of Europe. The aim of the project is to study Borgund’s role in national distribution networks for the trade in-, and consumption ofNorwegian hones: Was Borgund a hub in a trade network for Norwegian hones? And what were the hones used for at Borgund? C. 400 hones from Borgund will be classified and the stones identified using archaeological classificationmethods and different geological analyses. Øystein J. Jansen at the University Museum of Bergen is a collaboration partner in the project. https://app.cristin.no/projects/show.jsf?id=647273.

I am a participant in the project Eidsborg rock, which focuses on production and trade of whetstones in the late Iron Age from the quarry site Eidsborg in Telemark. The project is lead by Museum of Cultural History at the University of Oslo, and is financed by The Research Council of Norway, grant 341213.