[s1artibartfast]

I would think that individuals from antiquity would understand that an object rolling down hill picks up speed, or a rock dropped from higher hits harder.

The existence of acceleration aspect may not have been novel, but measuring the rate seems to be the novel part

[tbarbugli]

isn't indeed easier to measure a rolling object going down from a ramp? measuring water falling from a jar while moving the jar sounds very complicated.

[s1artibartfast]

That's true, but a ball rolling down hill wouldn't give you an estimate of gravity without understanding Newtonian physics and friction coefficients