European wheelbarrow
Carretilla europea
- Date
- c. 1220 · confidence medium
- Place
- France / England (cathedral building works)
- Credited to
- Anonymous cathedral builders; China (Han dynasty) much earlier
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A wheelbarrow with a front wheel and two handles, distinct from the Chinese model with a central wheel, used in quarries, building works and mines. It multiplied the load a single man could move.
The Chinese wheelbarrow existed from the 1st–3rd centuries; the European one appears c. 1170–1250 in miniatures and building accounts, probably an independent invention.
What it led to
- the acceleration of great Gothic building and fortification works
- transport in mines and fields
- a universal tool of manual labour
Built on
- Wheelbarrowc. 100 CE
- Zhuge Liang's Chinese wheelbarrow (3rd century)
- handbarrow
Made possible
- mine cart (tramcar)