Editing Karmøy (section)

==History==
[[File:Karmoy avril 2011 158.JPG|thumb|View of the historic [[Avaldsnes Church]]]]
[[File:Karmoya-stolav.jpg|thumb|right|Island pastures and St. Olav's church]]
There are several finds from the [[Stone Age]], [[Bronze Age]] and [[Iron Age]]. Large burial mounds, stone monuments, and many other ancient monuments are found on the island. Karmøy is the site of the Storhaug, Grønhaug, and Flagghaugen burial mounds.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gravhaugane på Reheiå |url=http://www.fornminner.no/AmS/33-reheia/gravhauger.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530230814/http://www.fornminner.no/AmS/33-reheia/gravhauger.htm |archive-date=2013-05-30 |access-date=2015-12-01 |publisher=Skilta fornminner i Rogaland}}</ref>

Karmøy was known for sailing in the old times. The [[Elder Edda|eddic]] poem ''[[Grímnismál]]'' says that [[Thor]], the weather god, wades the [[Karmsundet]] strait every morning on his way to [[Yggdrasil]], the tree of life. The ocean outside Karmøy is dangerous, filled with underwater currents and rocks. Thus the ships were forced into the narrow [[Karmsundet]]. Chieftains and kings controlled the ships passing up and down the coast and demanded taxes.

The [[Karmsundet]] strait was also the source of the name of the kingdom, at the time when the first king of the unified Norway, [[Harald Fairhair]], lived on [[Karmøy (island)|Karmøy]]. (See [[History of Norway]].)

[[Avaldsnes]] is located on the northeastern coast of the island. King [[Augvald]] who has given his name to this ancient site is mentioned in the [[Old Norse]] [[saga]]s as having his home here. Later the residence of [[Harald Fairhair]] and other kings are mentioned. There is also a [[medieval]] church, [[Avaldsnes Church|St. Olav's church of Avaldsnes]], located on this coast.

[[Visnes, Rogaland|Visnes]], a village in the northwest of Karmøy was once the site of an important [[copper]] mine. This mine was source of the copper used for the [[Statue of Liberty]] in [[New York City]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statue of Liberty |url=http://park.org/Guests/Stavanger/statue.htm |publisher=Visnes Copper Museum}}</ref>

In the 18th century, two girls from [[Uyea, Unst|Uyea]] in [[Shetland]] rowed to [[Haaf Gruney]] to milk some of the cows grazing there. Unfortunately, their return was marred by a strong storm, and eventually they found their tiny boat blown to Karmøy. The Uyea girls ended up marrying Karmøy men, and their descendants still live there. The Dyrland family of Karmoy are believed to be the family that the two girls married into after they arrived on Karmøy. Sivert Dyrland was a member of the Norwegian government in the early 20th century.<ref name="Smith">{{Cite book |last=Haswell-Smith |first=Hamish |title=The Scottish Islands |publisher=Canongate |year=2004 |location=Edinburgh}}</ref>