European Wheelbarrows

how would the european history change (if at all) if Wheelbarrows became a regular transportation vehicle at some point just after the WRE collapse? ... it is from what i can read, suggest that Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire had at least some kind of wheelbarrows (inventories from the temple Eleusis and apocryphal stories about Emperor Elagabalus, both suggest that such things existed).

For one carts wouldn't be as much in demand, hence local settlements might not be that interested in maintaining wide roads when smaller pathways would be enough ... and while there would probably still exist some kind of trade network in the dark middle ages, the road system would probably not be as useable for moving armies
 
Well, certain areas of agriculture, mining and building construction could certainly acquire somewhat of an efficiency boost.
 
Huh, no one showed interest in this thread ? I think it's actually a pretty interesting little topic.
 

mowque

Banned
We have to find out the reason why they fell out of disuse, and were so uncommon for centuries. probably poor workmanship back then. A wheelbarrow has to be very sturdy to work well. The technology was probably just not up to it.
 
We have to find out the reason why they fell out of disuse, and were so uncommon for centuries. probably poor workmanship back then. A wheelbarrow has to be very sturdy to work well. The technology was probably just not up to it.

They made other things similar to it, like minecarts, as early as the 1600's, so I don't think it's lack of technology.

I suppose it could be one of those things that seem obvious but that it took along time for anyone to think of again.
 
Wheelbarrows came back into wide use during the High Middle Ages, so it's not like they were completely unknown in medieval Europe.
 
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