Model of a stone carriage, constructed by Olof Birgerson. The model is described in the inventory of 1779 as "Models of the tools for lifting which the farm hand Olof Birgerson from Närke, found out, with which big stones easily can be lifted and removed.". Olof Birgerson was a farm hand at a farm in Kumla Parish, near Örebro in the 1770's. In a report in 1773 for the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Jonas Norberg wrote that "with the help of a few men and 1-3 pair of horses Olof Birgerson cleared away stone to many people's admiration and pleasure". The stones cleared could weigh about 4-8 tons. Olof Birgerson constructed four different stone lifting and moving gears.
You are all set!
Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.