Along Vigdelsveien near Sola, a cluster of Bronze Age burial mounds marks one of the richest archaeological sites on Jæren. The most significant find came from a mound excavated in the 1880s, which contained the grave of a woman dated to approximately 1400 BC. Known as Regekvinna or Rægedronninga, the Rege Queen, she was buried with an extraordinary set of bronze objects: a neck collar, a large fibula brooch, arm rings, a decorated belt plate, and a dagger, all of Central European or Danish type.
The burial assemblage is remarkable because its style and composition follow Danish Bronze Age customs rather than local Norwegian traditions. The bronze collar and belt plate are types well known from wealthy women's graves in Denmark and northern Germany but extremely rare this far north. This suggests either that the woman came from Denmark or that the Jæren elite maintained close cultural and trade connections with Scandinavia's Bronze Age centres. The flat, fertile Jæren landscape would have been among the most productive agricultural areas in Norway, generating the surplus wealth needed for such connections.
The finds are now in the collection of the Museum of Archaeology at the University of Stavanger. The burial mounds themselves are visible as grass-covered rises along the road, protected as cultural heritage sites. An information board explains the finds and their significance. The area around Rege contains additional prehistoric sites including other mounds and field clearance cairns, evidence of continuous settlement stretching back thousands of years.
The burial assemblage is remarkable because its style and composition follow Danish Bronze Age customs rather than local Norwegian traditions. The bronze collar and belt plate are types well known from wealthy women's graves in Denmark and northern Germany but extremely rare this far north. This suggests either that the woman came from Denmark or that the Jæren elite maintained close cultural and trade connections with Scandinavia's Bronze Age centres. The flat, fertile Jæren landscape would have been among the most productive agricultural areas in Norway, generating the surplus wealth needed for such connections.
The finds are now in the collection of the Museum of Archaeology at the University of Stavanger. The burial mounds themselves are visible as grass-covered rises along the road, protected as cultural heritage sites. An information board explains the finds and their significance. The area around Rege contains additional prehistoric sites including other mounds and field clearance cairns, evidence of continuous settlement stretching back thousands of years.
