characteristic that could be indicating that the valley formed before the tectonic uplift of Norway. The valley is one of several valleys of southern Norway that existed already as part of the ancient Paleic relief but had at the time gentler slopes. Gudbrandsdalen formed and developed originally as a valley of fluvial origin. Only millions of year later was the valley re-shaped by glaciers during the Quaternary period. As the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet melted and retreated during the end of the last ice age a large but ephemeral ice-dammed lake formed in the valley. History The valley was shaped by the recent ice age and rivers from the present glacial areas in Jotunheimen and Dovre. Bones and teeth from mammoths and musk oxen, living in the area at that time, are found in the valley. Several traces of hunters from the Stone Age are found in the valley (and in the mountain areas around). There is a rock carving of moose in the northern part of Lillehammer. Gudbrandsdalen has always hosted the main road between Trondheim and the central eastern lowlands. In Old Norse known as þjóðvegr (tjodvei), "people's road" or "everybody's road". Legendary history Raum the Old was the father of Dale-Gudbrand, and he settled in Hundorp. The Gudbrand Valley is mentioned extensively in the Heimskringla (Chronicle of the Kings of Norway) by Snorri Sturluson. The account of King Olaf's (A.D. 1015–1021) conversion of Dale-Gudbrand to Christianity is popularly recognized. According to the saga Gudbrand built a church there "in the valleys", possibly at Haave farm near Hundorp where archaeological evidence indicates what may have been the first church in the valley. In 1206, the heir to the Norwegian throne, Håkon Håkonsson, was saved by birkebeiners with a ski-run from Lillehammer to Rena. Until the Black Plague settlement expanded and new farms were established at outskirts. Farms with names -gard, -rud, -hus, and -li are mostly from this expansion period. During the High Middle Ages about 40 churches existed, most built in wood except for instances masonry churches in Easter Gausdal and Follebu. Hamar episcopal see was established in 1152 and its jurisdiction included Gudbrandsdalen. Garmo Stave Church and Ringebu Stave Church are examples of ancient wooden churches. Fåvang Stave Church and Vågå Church include parts from older churches. The Black Plague reduced the population in Gudbrandsdal by 50 to 70% during 1349 to 1350. Saksum, Brekkom, Skåbo, Venabygd