Pløyelagsfunn som automatisk fredete kulturminner: Kunnskapsdrevet forvaltning eller forvaltningsdrevet kunnskap?

Increasing hobbyist metal detecting presents new challenges for management of Norwegian heritage sites on arable land. New guidelines for metal detecting and determination of finders’ fee constitute new practice for managing finds and sites in the plough zone. Plough zone finds as heritage sites has emerged as an object of discourse for Norwegian cultural heritage management. Concurrently, Norwegian cultural heritage management is being transformed. Focus-ing on statements concerning the difference between løse kulturminner (stray finds) and automatically protected sites, this paper aims to explore the current view that many finds represent automatically protected sites. The analysis draws on the empirical data from the public hearing laying out the guidelines on metal detecting . Is this view founded on existing knowledge? And how does it affect plough-zone sites’ potential as scientific source material?