Cracked: The Secret of Roman Concrete

Yes, the Romans used concrete. Lots of it. And many of their buildings still stand today while our own 20th-century concrete stadiums and freeways slowly crumble.

It appears MIT and Harvard researchers and engineers have finally cracked the secret of ancient Roman concrete's durability. Long known to be far superior to our modern concrete, the Roman original is nearly indestructible--and after 2,ooo years, many Roman buildings and aqueducts are still being used today.

The perfect example is the Pantheon of Rome, originally a temple to Roman gods which is now (since 609 AD) being used as a Catholic church. Built around 126 A.D., or nearly 2,000 years ago, its huge, 43-meter wide dome is still the world's biggest dome made of unreinforced concrete. 

But how is it possible that, after nearly two millennia, the huge concrete dome still looks almost new--how is it possible it's even still there? It turns out that, unlike our modern concrete, its Ancient Roman counterpart is essentially able to fix any cracks on its own. In a way, it's the equivalent of your skin regrowing, closing a wound and healing following an injury. Sound impossible?

Click on the links below to read about the Pantheon of Rome, and about the newest research into how they were able to build it in the first place.

The image above (showing the Pantheon's dome from the outside) was found on the Wikipedia under the link below.

The Pantheon of Rome (Wikipedia article with lots of cool pictures):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon,_Rome

MIT News. "Riddle solved: Why was Roman concrete so durable?"

https://news.mit.edu/2023/roman-concrete-durability-lime-casts-0106

And since we're on the subject of Ancient Rome, then--By Jove!--why not check out the animation below:

"What Did Ancient Rome Look Like?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XxA4CX_Ip8