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Norway is perhaps Europe's "oldest" country, since it shows evidence of humans going back 9,000 years! Stavanger is in a district called Rogaland, the site of many archeological finds. The Archeology Museum exhibits the connection between humans and the environment from the Ice Ages through the Middle Ages.
We saw bones, spinning whorls, blades, all manner of tools and even a fragile bowl made in the 4th century. How strange to see, almost touch, these traces of of continuity. It made the surivival of the species seem remarkable.
Rocks with carvings highlighted in red shown here date from 1500 B.C.E. They portray early ships and a sun design. Scholars think the round indented marks were ritualistic. There are several sites with such rock carvings near Stavanger.
Since so many of the early graves with many goods are for women, one Museum pamphlet speculates there was a matriarchal society in the early days.
Most public institutions in Norway seem to make serious efforts to provide services to the physically disabled. At this Museum, for example, there are models and tape recordings for the visually impaired.
Like most public places in Norway, there are special facilities for children in the Archeology Museum. Right next to the reference library is an area where children can dress up in Viking-era clothes and play in a model "house" to see what kind of tools Vikings used.