Ljubljana Marshes wheel and axle
Rueda y eje de madera de Liubliana
- Date
- c. 3350-3100 BCE · confidence high
- Place
- Ljubljana Marshes, Ig, Slovenia
- Credited to
- Pile-dwelling communities of the Ljubljana Marshes
- Field
- Movement
What it is
An ash and oak wheel about 70 cm in diameter with its ash axle, found in 2002 and radiocarbon-dated to around 3150 BC. It is the oldest preserved wooden wheel with axle known.
Found by Anton Velušček and colleagues; dated 3340-3030 BC (95 %). There is no agreement on where the wheel was invented (Carpathians, central Europe, Mesopotamia): this entry records only the oldest physical specimen.
What it led to
- material proof that the solid-wheel cart already existed in central Europe by about 3200 BC
- two different woodworking techniques for wheel and axle, with a fitted hole