An Ancient Wooden Wheel From the Ljubljana Marshes

A wooden wheel with an axle was found in the Ljubljana Marshes in Slovenia and is dated to about 3350–3100 BCE. The City Museum of Ljubljana describes it as the oldest known wooden wheel with an axle; radiocarbon estimates place it at around 5,200 years old. The wheel is assembled from wooden planks, and its axle is oak. The find demonstrates advanced woodworking and the use of carts at the time, but it does not by itself establish where or when people first invented the wheel.