Inventing the Wheel: How Getting Around Got Easier

Here's a replica of the oldest wooden wheel from the Heritage Transport Museum's collection of wheels, the earliest wheel was from Mesopotamia.

It was used for transport 300 years after the coming of potter's wheel.

Recent research suggests that the oldest wooden wheel discovered so far is one found in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

That wheel dates back to 3200 BCE, around the same time that wheels were used for transporting animal-pulled vehicles.

Initially, wheels were plain and solid, with a central hole for the axle.

Making wheels required a lot of labour and skill.

Metal tools were used to fix the axle inside the wheel, and methods were devised to carve out perfectly uniform, round wheels.

Later, hubs were added to control help control the undulated movement of vehicles.

For the mechanism to work properly, the wheel must rotate freely around the axle.

This is achieved by fitting the axle directly in the centre of the wheel, which maximises continuity during motion.

The axle and hole must be perpendicular to help reduce friction.

The axle must also be as thin as possible - minimising its surface area - while being strong enough to support the load.

The bullock cart wheels shown here are joined through axle.

These are some of the earliest wheels used in India, from a miniature bird cart from the Indus Valley period.

The cart might have been an object of amusement and play for children.

In any case, it shows that people from this period were aware of the use of wheel for movement.

This artefact dates from 1000-800 BCE.

Other examples of miniature carts from the Indus Valley Civilization are similar to present-day carts drawn by buffalo.

During the Indus valley period there was dramatic increase in number of terracotta carts and wheels, as evidenced through archaeological finds.

The early appearance of Indus Valley carts suggests that they are a result of indigenous technological development.

Although early solid wheels were sturdy, they were heavy - with 3 to 12 pieces.

They lacked speed and manoeuvrability.

The need for greater speed led to the invention of spoked wheels around 2000 BCE, by the Egyptians.

Iron rims were also added for greater strength in Celtic chariots.

Wooden, spoked wheels with iron rims were the norm for many centuries.

There was no major change in spoked wheels until 1802.

The spoked wheel of a horse-drawn carriage.

In 1802, the first wire-tension spoked wheel came - patented by G.F Bauer.

Several years later, round wire-tension spokes evolved - like those used in bicycles today.

Wheel-making required a lot of skill and effort.

To protect wheels from damage, protective rubber coverings were introduced - and tyres were born!

But early rubber couldn't hold its shape - it became sticky in hot weather and stiff in the cold.

Then, in 1839, Charles Goodyear introduced the process of vulcanisation - making rubber usable for tires.

By heating rubber with sulphur, it would become pliable.

Solid rubber tyres were stronger and resistant to cuts and abrasions, but they made for a more bumpy ride.

Karl Benz's patented Motorwagen of 1885 used wire-tension wheels with hard rubber.

A spoked wheel with hard rubber - an example of hard rubber in the wheel of a horse carriage from the early 1900s.

The next evolutionary leap was the advent of pneumatic tyres.

Scottish engineer RW Thompson replaced hard rubber with pneumatic tyres in 1885, air-filled rubber tyres that reduced vibration and improved traction.

The first commercially successful ones were made in 1888 by John Dunlop of Ireland.

Automobile wheels needed enough strength to withstand violent stress, and to carefully balance them for even rotation.

Early cars had wooden, spoked wheels similar to animal-drawn carriages.

But they weren't durable enough, and were distorted by heavy loads and shrinkage.

The simplest modern wheel is the pressed steel disc.

Later, cast aluminum wheels allowed for wider, lower profile tires to be fitted for better grip.

A major advancement came in the tyre industry with the introduction of radial ply tires in 1950s, like this one.

Their flexible side walls provide better cornering and longer thread life.

The white wall tyres were made by a small tire company in Chicago called Vogue Tyre & Rubber Co.

Pure natural rubber was used to make the Early automobile tyres. The rubber was mixed with various chemicals into tread compound to make the tyres wear better.

The best of the compounds was zinc oxide - a pure white substance that increased traction and made entire tyre white. White-wall tyres became symbolic of modern luxury.

Here is an installation made from cycle wheels. Older wheels can be repurposed into furniture design.