With the advent of space travel and virtual reality, the wheel is more often than not overlooked. However scientists agree that that this primitive innovation is groundbreaking. According to researchers, no wheels exist in nature and as such the invention is 100% inspire by homo sapien ingenuity. The oldest known wheel dates back from around 3500 BC during the thick of the Bronze age. Initially these round object were used mainly for pottery. It took another three centuries before they were used on chariots.
Research on the humble wheel has been extensive. However there are still pieces of the prehistoric puzzle archaeologists have left to discover. In fact just recently, archaeologists from England have dug up one of the oldest and most well preserved wheel artifacts.
A team from the Cambridge Archaeological Unit unveiled their latest discovery in the Must Farm archaeological site in Peterborough, England. The wheel clocks in at three feet and is so well preserved that the artifact still has its wooden hub. According to the archaeologists, the wheel dates back from 1100 and 800 BC.
The 3,000 year old wheel is amongst the many discoveries dug up in the area which has been nicknamed Peterborough's Pompeii. Multiple ancient plates, bowls and jars with food inside has been found in the area. The area has been so well preserved since a fire destroyed the ancient settlement 3,000 years ago.
The archaeologists involved in the project have since gushed about the importance of the wheel discovery and of Petersborough's Pompeii in mapping England's prehistoric life.
"Among the wealth of other fabulous artifacts and the new structural remains of round houses built over this river channel, this site continues to amaze and astonish us with its insight into prehistoric life," explained Kasia Gdaniec a senior archaeologist from the Cambridge Country Council.