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Iron Wheels

721 BC - 705 BC
Iron, Bronze
Khorsabad
23 cm diam.
A11811

Oriental Institute Museum

Artifact Description

Iron Wheels

The invention of the wheel was one of the greatest contributions made by the ancient Mesopotamians to the whole of humankind. This early iron wheel with bronze hub and bearings may have been part of a wooden ceremonial cart. It was found in the temple of Nabu, the god of writing and scribes, in the ancient city of Dur-Sharrukin (modern-day Khorsabad).

Collected by

Gordon Loud (in charge of excavations at Khorsabad)
Excavated by The Oriental Institute 1932-1933

Multimedia

The Ancient City of Khorsabad
Dr. Gil Stein, Director of the Oriental Institute, discusses the importance of the ancient capital city of Khorsabad in this video.

What is Conservation?
Ever wonder what a conservator does? Oriental Institute Museum conservator Laura Laura D'Alessandro tells you all about her job in this video.

Suggested Readings

Hodges, Henry. Technology in the Ancient World. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1992.

Parpola, Simo. Letters from Assyria and the West: The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part I. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press, 1987.

Roaf, Michael. Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. New York: Facts on File, 1990.

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