Editing Kristiansand (section)

===Prehistory and early history===
The Kristiansand area has been inhabited since prehistoric times. In 1996, the well-preserved skeleton of a woman dating to approximately 6500&nbsp;BC was discovered in [[Søgne]] in western Kristiansand. This demonstrates very early habitation of the archipelago. Grauthelleren (''Grathelleren''), located on Fidjane, is believed to be a [[Stone Age]] settlement. The first discovery in Norway of a Sarup enclosure (a [[Neolithic]] form of ritual enclosure first identified at Sarup on the Danish island of [[Funen]]) was made in 2010 at Hamresanden and dates to c. 3400&nbsp;BC. Archaeological excavations to the east of [[Oddernes Church]] have uncovered rural settlements that existed during the centuries immediately before and after the start of the [[Common Era|common era]]. Together with a corresponding discovery in [[Rogaland]], these settlements are unique in the Norwegian context; isolated farms, rather than villages, were the norm in ancient Norway. Other discoveries in [[grave mound]]s around the church, in the Lund section of the city, indicate habitation beginning c.&nbsp;400&nbsp;AD, and 25 cooking pits that were found immediately outside the church wall in 1907 are probably even older. One of the largest [[Norse paganism|pre-Christian]] burial grounds in South Norway was formerly located to the south and west of the church. A royal centre is thought to have existed at Oddernes before 800, and the church was built around 1040.

Before the stone church was built, one or perhaps two wooden [[post church]]es are believed to have stood on the same spot. A few years ago, excavations were carried out under and around the runestone when it was moved to the church porch; the grave finds indicated that the churchyard must already have been unusually large in the [[High Middle Ages]]. This means that the area must have had a large population before it was reduced by the [[Black Death]].

In the 14th and 15th centuries, there was already a busy port and a small village on the [[Otra]] at the lowest point of today's Lund neighbourhood (Lahelle). Another important element in the development of Kristiansand was the harbor on the island of [[Flekkerøy]], which was the most important on the [[Skagerrak]] beginning in the 16th century and was first fortified under King [[Christian III of Denmark and Norway|Christian III]] in 1555. In 1635, King [[Christian IV of Denmark|Christian IV]] ordered his [[Seignory|feudal seigneur]], Palle Rosenkrantz, to move from Nedenes and build a royal palace on the island.