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History of Wheelbarrows Timeline

(2nd century CE–Present)

The history of wheelbarrows traces the development of a simple but influential one-wheeled cart used to transport materials efficiently. Less

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Ancient China

Han dynasty tomb murals show early wheelbarrows

188 BC

The earliest archaeological evidence for wheelbarrows appears in murals from the tomb of Han dynasty Emperor Hui, who died in 188 BC. These images depict one-wheel carts.

Image source: Wheelbarrow

Han dynasty tomb murals show early wheelbarrows

Han dynasty tomb reliefs depict one-wheel carts

188 BC

Brick reliefs associated with Emperor Hui's tomb provide additional archaeological evidence for early Chinese one-wheel carts, commonly identified as wheelbarrows.

Early references to the deer cart appear

100 BC - 100

Accounts dating from the first century BC and first century AD mention a vehicle called a deer cart, or lu che. Some historians suggest that these references may describe wheelbarrows.

Bao Xuan's wedding journey is later recorded

30 BC

Around 30 BC, Bao Xuan's wife reportedly helped him push a lu che back to his village during their modest wedding ceremony. The episode was recorded centuries later in the Book of Later Han.

Zhuge Liang's wooden ox enters wheelbarrow history

234

Later Chinese tradition associated a wheelbarrow design with Zhuge Liang's wooden ox, a third-century device whose identity and relationship to the wheelbarrow were discussed by the Song scholar Gao Cheng.

The gliding horse design is described

234

The third-century gliding horse wheelbarrow was described as differing in the direction of its shaft. Its shaft pointed backward, allowing the operator to push it.

Pushed wheelbarrow shafts point backward

234

In the gliding horse design discussed by Gao Cheng, the shaft pointed backward rather than forward. This arrangement made the vehicle a pushed wheelbarrow.

The common centrally wheeled type becomes established

300

After the third century, the more common wheelbarrow type featured a large wheel mounted centrally beneath the load.

Bao Xuan's lu che account is preserved

432

The fifth-century Book of Later Han preserved the story of Bao Xuan and his wife, who pushed a lu che during their feeble wedding ceremony. The account is often cited as possible early evidence for a wheelbarrow.

Chinese sailing carriages are recorded

500 - 600

Records from the sixth century describe Chinese sailing carriages. These land-sailing vehicles were distinct from wheelbarrows and do not establish the date of the sail-assisted wheelbarrow.

Gao Cheng links the pulled cart to Zhuge Liang

1000 - 1100

Gao Cheng argued that the small pulled wheelbarrow of the Song period was the direct descendant of Zhuge Liang's wooden ox.

Forward-pointing shafts define a pulled design

1000 - 1100

Gao Cheng noted that the small wheelbarrow of his day had shafts pointing forward, indicating that it was pulled rather than pushed.

Gao Cheng describes contemporary wheelbarrows

1000 - 1100

Writing in the eleventh century, Song scholar Gao Cheng described the small wheelbarrow of his time and related it to earlier Chinese designs.

Historical interpretations

Possible Roman wheelbarrows are proposed

100 - 400

The reported Roman use of a one-wheeled vehicle has prompted speculation that wheelbarrows may have existed in the Roman Empire.

Possible Byzantine wheelbarrows are considered

330 - 1453

Historians have also speculated about wheelbarrows in the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire, although the surviving evidence is scarce.

The Historia Augusta reports Elagabalus's wheelbarrow

400

The fourth-century Historia Augusta reported that Emperor Elagabalus used a one-wheeled vehicle, called a pabillus from pabo, to transport women during frivolous court games.

The date of the sail-assisted wheelbarrow remains uncertain

600

Although Chinese sailing carriages are documented in the sixth century, the date when a sail-assisted wheelbarrow was invented remains uncertain.

Chinese wheelbarrow evidence is described as sixteen centuries old

1797

The discussion surrounding the Chinese wheelbarrow noted that the design had existed there for roughly sixteen centuries by the time of the late eighteenth-century accounts.

Lewis assesses the Roman hypothesis

1970

Historian of technology M. J. T. Lewis considered the possibility that wheelbarrows existed in the Roman and Byzantine empires, but judged the evidence scarce and much of the scenario speculative.

European development

Medieval European wheelbarrows begin appearing

1170 - 1250

The first wheelbarrows in medieval Europe appeared sometime between 1170 and 1250, marking the beginning of their documented European development.

English and French sources mention wheelbarrows

1172 - 1222

M. J. T. Lewis identified four mentions of wheelbarrows in English and French sources between 1172 and 1222. Three used terms different from the modern word wheelbarrow.

Wheelbarrows assist medieval agriculture

1200 - 1300

Agriculture was another important thirteenth-century application of the wheelbarrow, extending its usefulness beyond construction and mining.

Wheelbarrows enter medieval mining

1200 - 1300

By the thirteenth century, wheelbarrows were also used in mining operations to transport excavated material.

Wheelbarrows support medieval construction

1200 - 1300

By the thirteenth century, wheelbarrows had become useful in building construction, where their single wheel helped workers move materials.

Dover works purchase wheelbarrows

1222

The first archival reference to a wheelbarrow in medieval Europe is dated 1222. It records the purchase of several wheelbarrows for works undertaken for the English king at Dover.

Matthew Paris depicts a wheelbarrow

1250

The first known depiction of a medieval European wheelbarrow appears in Matthew Paris's English manuscript Vitae duorum Offarum, completed in 1250.

Image source: Matthew Paris

Matthew Paris depicts a wheelbarrow

Wheelbarrows remain relatively rare in Europe

1300 - 1400

Despite their usefulness, surviving documents and illustrations indicate that wheelbarrows remained relatively rare in Europe until the fifteenth century.

Later use and adaptations

The second Ingolstadt wheelbarrow dates to the 1530s

1530 - 1539

The boards of the other Ingolstadt wheelbarrow were made from trees felled during the 1530s, confirming its sixteenth-century date.

Ingolstadt wheelbarrow boards date to 1537

1537

Dendrochronological analysis dated the felling of the trees used for the boards of one Ingolstadt wheelbarrow to 1537.

European visitors begin noticing Chinese wheelbarrows

1600 - 1699

European visitors to China from the seventeenth century onward expressed appreciation for Chinese wheelbarrows and their distinctive design.

Chinese wheelbarrows attract European attention

1700 - 1796

During the eighteenth century, European observers continued to pay attention to the Chinese wheelbarrow, particularly its ability to transport substantial loads.

Wheelbarrow engravings are published

1797

Engravings of Chinese wheelbarrows appeared in van Braam Houckgeest's 1797 book, providing visual documentation of their construction and use.

Large baggage capacity is recorded

1797

Van Braam Houckgeest emphasized that the Chinese wheelbarrow could hold large amounts of heavy baggage, highlighting its practical transport advantages.

Van Braam Houckgeest describes Chinese wheelbarrows

1797

In writings published in 1797, Dutch East India Company member Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest accurately described the design of Chinese wheelbarrows.

The Piepkar demonstrates continued wheelbarrow use

1900 - 1999

Wheelbarrows continued in use into the twentieth century. The Piepkar, a wheelbarrow designed to run on rails, is a notable example found in Sumatra on Billiton Island.

The Ingolstadt wheelbarrows are excavated

2014

Archaeological excavations in Ingolstadt, Germany, in 2014 uncovered one of the oldest preserved wheelbarrows from Central Europe.

A second Ingolstadt wheelbarrow is excavated

2017

Further excavations in Ingolstadt in 2017 uncovered another exceptionally old Central European wheelbarrow.

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Key Facts

  1. The earliest known wheelbarrows appeared in China by the 2nd century CE, although some traditions credit the military strategist Zhuge Liang in the 3rd century.
  2. Chinese wheelbarrows often placed the wheel near the center of the load, allowing one person to carry heavy materials with relatively little effort.
  3. Wheelbarrows spread to Europe during the High Middle Ages, becoming useful in agriculture, construction, mining, and monastery work.
  4. European designs commonly placed a smaller wheel at the front, making the barrow easier to steer but requiring more lifting by the operator.
  5. Modern wheelbarrows use materials such as steel, plastic, and rubber, and remain common tools in gardening, landscaping, construction, and waste removal.

Source

This History of Wheelbarrows timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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