Odessa — the motherland of the wheel

It has been long known among those born in Odessa that this southern city on the Black Sea is the motherland of jazz, elephants and hundreds of famous writers, poets and artists. Recently, Ukrainian archaeologists used carbon dating to explore a wooden wheel found in 1968. The wheel was made of oak or birch and was found in a burial of the so called Yamnaya culture. The people of this culture inhabited large territories of modern Ukraine in Early Bronze Age (around 2900-2300 BCE). The carbon dating gave the result of approximately 4500 years ago. There were two other wheel in the burial, but they fell into pieces when they were found. Archaeologists think that the people of the Yamnaya culture buried their dead with all things necessary for the life after death. So, while this wheel is not as old as the one found in Mesopotamia (app. 5,500 years old), it will definitely add to the pride of the Odessans :).