Journal - Comune di Monteleone di Spoleto

V.74 Proper left wheel
V.75 X-ray of the felloe of the proper left wheel. X-ray by Kendra roth
98
contact with the outer one. The nave is obviously made
from a single piece of wood and fashioned into three consecutive
cylinders. The spokes are inserted into the central
cylinder, that is, the nave stock, and the inner nave neck
(l. 6 in. [15 cm]), which flanks the nave stock, is slightly
longer than the outer one (l. 5 3⁄8 in. [13.5 cm]).
The bronze sheathing (¼ in. or .7 cm thick) on each
wheel is assembled as follows: Two rings of bronze sheet
cover both sides of the felloes. on the outer part they are
nailed along the edges, just below the iron tire, while on
the inner part the edges are wrapped around the bases of
the spokes and barely overlap in the spaces between spokes
where they are nailed. each spoke is covered with a sheet
that is nailed along the two edges that do not overlap; the
nails occur inside the wheel. a short section of the sheet on
each spoke is inserted into the sheathing of the felloe and
nave, but does not cause friction. each nave is revetted by
the two halves of two tubular bronze sheets (Figure V.73)
molded around the nave and wrapped around the bases
of the spokes, where they are nailed between the spokes.
each nave head has a bronze nave cap, whose ribbed ring
overlaps the nave head by 1⁄2 in. (1.2 cm) on the outer edge
and 3⁄8 in. (.8 cm) on the inner. The opening through which
the axle arm passed has a diameter of 1¾ in. (4.5 cm). all
of the small nails utilized to attach the bronze sheets to the
wood are also of bronze. The lynchpins did not come to
new York with the chariot.
Condition. most of proper right wheel (cat. 19) appears to
be intact and nearly all of the wooden core remains. The
sheathing presents minor losses, hairline cracks, and partial
warping, in particular where the wood has expanded and
applied pressure from within. The remaining parts of the
iron tire cover about half the perimeter and X-rays reveal the
remains of nine(?) nails. The proper left wheel (cat. 20)
appears to have been reassembled in modern times from
individual parts, as the bronze sheathing does not fit as
snugly as it does on the proper right wheel. The bronze
sheathing is intact, except for small losses. Three-quarters of
the wood remains; modern wood was used, perhaps in
1903, to replace the hub and many of the spokes. The
remains of the preserved iron tire cover about three-quarters
of the perimeter and X-rays reveal the remains of twelve(?)
nails.
The bronze surface of both wheels is covered with
thick burial accretions, with scattered areas of metallic,
brown, and green corrosion. The outer edge has remains
of the iron tire that now appears as red-brown corrosion
(iron oxides). The nave is partially metallic, with a thin
film of brown tarnish and areas of compact black or green
corrosion.