Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Middle East to Sri Lanka and its role as a leading player in assisting refugees around the
world, in particular, have won international plaudits.
At the same time, Norway remains, by choice, on the fringes of the continent that it in-
habits and has yet to join the European Union. Casting an eye over Norwegian history, it's
not difficult to understand why Norwegians remain wary of forming unions of any kind
with other countries. Having narrowly voted against EU membership in 1972 and again
in 1994 despite Norwegian governments pressing for a 'yes' vote, Norway remains on the
outside looking in.
TIMELINE
12,000 BC
The last ice age thaws and Norway takes on its present physical form with a new
body of water separating Norway from northern Europe.
9000 BC
The hunting culture of the Komsa, the forerunner of the Sami, arrives in northern
Scandinavia and the Komsa establish the first permanent settlements in Norway's
Arctic North.
4000 BC
The earliest of the Unesco World Heritage-listed rock art is painted by Stone Age
peoples close to modern Alta in Norway's far north, charting the region's human and
natural history.
2500 BC
The wonderfully named Battle-Axe, Boat-Axe and Funnel-Beaker people, named
after the stone tools they used, enter southern Norway from Sweden. They traded
amber for metals from mainland Europe.
AD 787
The earliest account of Norse seafaring appears in the
Anglo Saxon Chronicle
for
787, describing how three ships came to Britain, piloted by sailors who were de-
scribed as Northmen.
793
The dawn of the Viking age comes when Vikings plunder St Cuthbert's monastery on
the island of Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland in Britain.
