Bjorn Wegge was the director of Public Relations for the Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise

Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise

Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise , part of Normisjon, an organisation within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway, was established in 1994, in the aftermath of the Nagorno-Karabakh War, to give aid to internally displaced persons within Azerbaijan. Another branch of Normisjon, Viator...

 with a special interest in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

 and the theories linking ancient Scandinavia and Azerbaijan as propounded by Thor Heyerdahl

Thor Heyerdahl

Thor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer with a background in zoology and geography. He became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he sailed by raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands...

.

The Land We Came From

Wegge initiated a 1997 musical album involving the Norwegian choir SKRUK

SKRUK

SKRUK is a well-known choir in Norway, having toured all over the country for more than 35 years with its conductor, Per Oddvar Hildre.The choir have released more than 20 records, and have performed on several continents....

 and Azeri musicians and singers. The belief in Heyerdahl's theory is explicitly stated in the choice of the album's title: "The Land We Came From", with the choir's leader stating that Azerbaijan was "a culture that may be our long-forgotten homeland". The album's cover featured a photograph of the ancient Caucasian Albania

Caucasian Albania

Albania is a name for the historical region of the eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day republic of...

n church

Church of Kish

The Church of Kish , also known by different sources as Church of Saint Elishe or Holy Mother of God Church , is a 12th or 13th century church located in the village of Kiş approximately 5 km north of Shaki, Azerbaijan...

 at Kish

Kis, Shaki

Kiş is a village and municipality in the Shaki Rayon of Azerbaijan. It is located approximately 5 km north of Shaki. It has a population of 6,244.- History:...

 near Shäki

Shaki

Shaki is a city in northwestern Azerbaijan, in the rayon of the same name.Shaki is situated in northern Azerbaijan on the southern part of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, from Baku...

. The relevance of Kish church

Church of Kish

The Church of Kish , also known by different sources as Church of Saint Elishe or Holy Mother of God Church , is a 12th or 13th century church located in the village of Kiş approximately 5 km north of Shaki, Azerbaijan...

 comes from J. Bjørnar Storfjell's archaeological excavation (also run by NHE and paid for by Norway) which led Heyerdahl to visit the church. The result was the appointment of Storfjell as chief archaeologist of a YUKOS

YUKOS

OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" was a petroleum company in Russia which, until 2003, was controlled by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky and a number of other prominent Russian businessmen. After Yukos was bankrupted, Khodorkovsky was convicted and sent to prison.Yukos headquarters was located in...

-sponsored excavation to the Sea of Azov

Sea of Azov

The Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...

 in 2001 to find evidence to back up Heyerdahl's Odin theory. Photographs of artefacts found during the Azov excavation appeared in Heyerdahl's 2001 book "Jakten på Odin. På sporet av vår fortid" (The Hunt for Odin. Examining our Past).

Books

Wegge is the author of Azerbaijan-Where East meets West (Oslo 1996), described as a "brief, readable overview of Azerbaijani history, ethnic groups and Christian links hinting at the opportunities for future missionary work" in the Trailblazer guide

Trailblazer (travel)

Trailblazer is an independent British publisher of travel, trekking and railway route-guides. Started by author Bryn Thomas it was originally synonymous with the Trans Siberian Handbook, which for years was the only guide to crossing Asia by rail and remains much respected.The company now publishes...

Azerbaijan with excursions to Georgia by Mark Elliott.