River Tyne, wooden wheel

In 1926-27 flooding of the Tyne scoured the south bank near Ryton, close to Clara Vale, revealing a wooden wheel some 150 yards west of the log-boat found in 1926. It lay on gravel, under 16 feet of alluvial sand and clay. The wheel had a hub 15.5 in long, with an external diameter of 5.75 in, swelling to 8.5 in at the centre where the 9 spokes were inserted. The spokes were 12.5 in long, and the diameter of the whole wheel was 38.75 in. The remains of an iron tyre were visible. The wheel, which could not be preserved intact, was suggested by Piggott as Roman or earlier in date, a product of the Pre-Roman Iron Age tradition.