main farm at Avaldsnes in about 870. In 953, King Haakon the Good fought a fierce battle at the Bloodheights (Slaget på Blodeheia ved Avaldsnes) against the sons of his half-brother King Eirik Bloodaxe. The forces of King Haakon won the battle and he would reign as King of Norway until his death during 961. This site contains the only Norwegian example of Bronze Age burial mounds lined up in a row. A ship burial from the time of the Merovingian Dynasty (approximately 680-750 AD) found here is the oldest ship burial uncovered within the Nordic countries. Storhaug Storhaug (Great Mound), a ship's burial mound, can be found to the north of the royal estate at Avaldsnes. Excavation of this burial mound started in 1886. The ship at Storhaug was made of oak and was placed in a north-south orientation. Stone walls of approximately in height and width were built around the great ship. The Storhaug ship is commonly described as a large oar-powered vessel, with a breadth of . Grønhaug Grønhaug (Green Mound), the site of another ship burial, is situated north of the church site. It was examined by Haakon Shetelig in 1902, and contained an approximately long boat with remains of a man’s grave from the 10th century. Dendrochronological studies carried out in 2009 show that the ships from Oseberg, Grønhaug, and Storhaug along with the boat found at Storhaug were all built from oak from the same area of Southwest Norway. Flagghaugen Flagghaugen (Flag Hill), from the Old Norse word haugr meaning hill or mound, is situated just north of the church. Originally it had a diameter of and a height of , but it was flattened under the leadership of Pastor Lyder Brun in 1835. The mound turned out to be Norway’s richest grave from the Roman Period. The Avaldsnes find () contained a neck ring of of pure gold, weapons, bandolier mountings and various Roman tubs of silver and bronze. Mary's Needle Mary's Needle, known in Norwegian as the sewing needle of Virgin Mary () is the only one remaining of several monumental stones which once stood around the church area. The stone has been somewhat taller, but, towering at it is still the second largest of its kind in Norway. The stone leans in towards the church wall—the distance to the wall is in fact only . A saga tells that "the day