"Karnilshaugen has been referred to as a burial mound for many years, and is already a protected cultural monument by the Norwegian Ministry of Cultural Heritage. It has been assumed that it is man-made, but we have not been able to say for sure. We can now, and it is very exciting," says Christian Løchsen Rødsrud, senior advisor and archaeologist at the Norwegian Ministry of Cultural Heritage.
"This is the largest man-made burial mound in Western Norway, and among the largest in the Nordic countries," says Rødsrud. Radar images reveal that the mound's soil layers are not naturally deposited but deliberately constructed.
Rødsrud suggested that Karnilshaugen might have belonged to the same chiefdom that built Myklebust, forming part of the regional power structure of the era. This connection will inform the World Heritage nomination process for Myklebust.
Karnilshaugen, also called Thinghaugen at Hauge, likely served as a gathering place in medieval times. It holds a unique place in Norwegian archaeology as the only known monument with astronomical alignment.
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