2,000-year-old Roman chariot model

A 2000-year-old model of a two-wheeled Roman chariot – biga, harnessed with two horses. The object is located in The British Museum and was discovered in the 1890s in Tiber. A charioteer and one of the horses have not survived to our times.

As it turns out, the artefact gave us more information about how chariots were constructed to maintain optimal performance. The most important thing in the chariot race was to prevent its destruction at high speeds. The wheels were made mainly of wood and reinforced with animal glue and leather elements. The key here was to add an iron rim to the right wheel, so that the wheel did not break when the whole chariots press against the wheel when turning left.

According to researchers of this type, the chariot could weigh about 25-30 kg, and the diameter of the wheel could be about 65 cm.