The Oldest Wooden Wheel In The World

Source: City Museum of Ljublana

This wheel belonging to a pushcart was found during a 2002 archeological excavation of the Ljubljana Marshes, a site 20 kilometers southwest of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. The 72 cm (28 in) wheel was made of ash plates connected by oak wedges, and the rectangular aperture in the center made a great fit for the 124 cm (49 in) oak axle found alongside it.

The Slovene team of archeologists made an historic find in a ditch that day, as radiocarbon and stratigraphic dating proved this to be the oldest wooden wheel in existence, as well as the oldest securely dated wheel-axle combination in existence at over 5,150 years of age.