Did you know that the most important invention of modern civilisation was found in Slovenia?

Did you know that the most important invention of modern civilisation was found in Slovenia?

The world’s oldest wooden wheel is on display at The Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana

At the end of February in 2002, the news of the discovery of the oldest wooden wheel in the world resounded in Slovenia and around the world. Archaeologists in the area of ​​the pile-dwelling settlement of Stara gmajna near Verd, Vrhnika accidentally discovered a damaged piece of wood in the mud. Later it turned out to be the remains of the oldest wooden wheel with an axle in the world.

The wheel found in the remains of a pile-dwelling settlement, has a radius of 70 centimetres and is 5 cm thick. It is made of ash and oak. According to experts the wheel belonged to a single-axle cart.

The oldest wooden wheel, with an axle, discovered in the Ljubljana Marshes, is between 5.100 and 5.350 years old. This makes it the oldest in the world ever found.

Photo credits: Andrej Peunik / MGML

Despite it seeming simplicity, the wheel turned out to be an invaluable artefact that shed light one of Europe’s earliest civilizations, a culture with an important presence on the territory of modern-day Slovenia.

The invention of the wheel is one of the foundations of modern civilisation and culture – the wheel encouraged progress and creativity.

Read also: Listen to the sounds of world’s oldest known musical instrument – found in Slovenia – (letsgoslovenia.si)



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