We think of the CVT as being a fairly modern system (at least in historical terms) but evidence is mounting that the principle of a "car" with a belt drive is rather earlier than at first thought.
The cool thing is that a discovery supporting this has taken place in the Netherlands!
Last year a team of archaeologists from the University of Eerstapril in Grijpswerk headed by Dr.Kras Verhaal carrying out a dig on the island of Borkum found the remains of what seems to have been a four wheeled cart driven by a central treadmill with room for two people (slaves?). Furthermore the presence of wooden cones suggest that a rudimentary variable gear system was used.
The "treadmill" emerging from the silt
The "road wheels"
Hopefully more photos will emerge in due course but in the meantime there really is nothing new in the Netherlands!
Mac.
