Late Development. Wheeled vehicles appear relatively late in Egypt—surprisingly enough, there is no evidence that any sort of wheeled transport was available to the builders of the great Dynasty 4 pyramids at Giza, for example. Instead, wheels are pictured for the first time in the late Old Kingdom (circa 2675-2130 B.C.E.). From Dynasty 6, a tomb painting shows wheels used to help move a ladder in a scene of soldiers attempting to storm an enemy town. Wheeled sledges are pictured in tombs from the Dynasties 5, 11, and 13. All of these early examples are solid wheels, made without spokes.

Earliest Spoked Wheels. The use of spoked wheels appears to have been introduced into Egypt around the time of the transition from the Second Intermediate Period to the New Kingdom. The first known spoked wheels in Egypt are from a small wheeled cart...