US EditionScientists Discover Secrets of Ancient Roman Concrete at Pompeii
Archaeologists and MIT researchers uncovered ancient Roman hot-mixed concrete with self-healing properties, challenging Vitruvius's method and informing sustainable modern concrete design.
- Dec 9: Scientists excavating Pompeii discovered a construction site frozen by Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 with premixed dry material piles and tools left in place, clarifying Roman self-healing concrete methods.
- Following recent digs, researchers showed recent excavations provided fresh samples that contradict Vitruvius's slaked-lime account, settling debates about Roman concreting methods.
- Chemical and isotope analyses showed Raman spectroscopy and isotope analysis of five pre-mixed dry piles found pozzolan, quicklime, and lime clasts consistent with hot mixing.
- Modern Portland cement accounts for about 8% of global CO2, and researchers say the discovery could inform more durable, sustainable concretes for next-generation low-carbon concretes.
- However, researchers caution the sampled wall might not represent all Roman structures, while lime clasts act as calcium reservoirs that chemically heal cracks.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Scientists excavating in the Roman city of Pompeii have discovered a site where concrete was being made. The materials they found there confirm a theory, only a few years old, about how this exceptionally strong concrete was made. The journal Nature Communications reports that archaeologists excavating in Pompeii stumbled upon a construction site that was buried under a torrent of ash and stone during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Too…
A 2,000-year-old building site reveals the raw ingredients for ancient Roman self-healing concrete
A detail of the neatly aligned ceramic roof tiles and tuff blocks in a newly excavated site in Pompeii, documenting the storage of building materials during renovation. Archaeological Park of PompeiiRoman concrete is pretty amazing stuff. It’s among the main reasons we know so much about Roman architecture today. So many structures built by the Romans still survive, in some form, thanks to their ingenious concrete and construction techniques. Ho…
Scientists discover secrets of ancient Roman concrete at Pompeii
Dec 9 : Scientists excavating the ruins of Pompeii have discovered a construction site left frozen in time by the eruption of Italy's Mount Vesuvius volcano in 79 AD, clarifying the ingredients and methods behind the durable self-healing concrete the ancient Romans used to revolutionize architecture.The site
NewScientist
The ArchaeologistPompeii building site reveals how the Romans made concrete
Excavations of a workshop that was buried in Pompeii almost 2000 years ago have given archaeologists unique insights into Roman construction techniques and the longevity of the empire’s concrete
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