Hi Gabel:

I may have went too far in suggesting you had heard Laurie Smith speak specifically on wheel origins and its demise. I was going by your comment to Roger Nair: "It is actually not cumbersome to lay out a building this way. But I don't have time to elaborate right now either..."

I guess I was waiting for you to address the use of the wheel and that you might also have remembered some other snippets from Laurie, etc.

Those reasons you cite for why the wheel fell out of favor sound perfectly sensible. And I'm in the process of getting back issues of TF, #70 & 90


Ken,

6th century B.C. for the daisy wheel, wow... that's way before the broad axe! This suggests it's more than just a building-design tool.

Those books would be a great resource to look at. Nice find. You are often mentioning good dissertation subjects on TF. The origin, meaning, etc, of apotropaic marks on frames would no doubt be a fascinating research study and expand on what we “don’t know.”

I’m always curious about the cultures where certain things originate. Too often TF has been examined in terms of frame typology, joinery, etc… but it seems that little has been unearthed about the early culture(s) and their beliefs that actually created these structures—why they built the way they did, not just how. Fact-based reports are likely elusive as indigenous cultures were typically orally based in terms of how teachings were disseminated. Maybe some poetry or songs exist about early European building design ??? Maybe there are paintings on rocks… (Maybe there are wheels scratched into things!)

And that's wonderful that you have access to Mr. Smith. I certainly welcome some facts. Maybe he might even post something here… And also neat to hear the 33' (2 rods width) report. Also interesting to hear you've inquired w/ the folks at OBR regarding my discovery of their words “Daisy Wheel scratched on a doorframe at Cogges. This is to stop evil spirits from entering the building.” Superstition is common among many early cultures who relied on gods and natural events to explain their world. Such superstition was typically woven into all facets of life, dwellings and design being no exception.

This is completely foreign to us today. We plop down homes wherever we please. Economics is often the sole dictator about building orientation: a southerly exposure helps reduce the heating budget, etc. Today, facing the street is much more of a determinant of building orientation than facing Venus in retrograde, or the east wind that may be thought to bring good fortune, etc. I think our modern mindset on this is really quite new to humanity. We are no longer governed by the natural world, its elements and forces.

I think this has been a great topic to shoot back and forth here on the forum.