The History Room
In Europe there are many roads, aqueducts, and buildings still standing from the Roman era. Euros even added train tracks to Roman roads and aqueducts and they can handle that great deal of weight. Our modern roads start to fall apart within years. Why?
Roman Concrete In Ancient Tomb Reveals Secrets To Its Resilience
Among their many talents, the ancient Romans were pioneers in the art of concrete making and construction. The quality of Roman concrete used to build their aqueducts, tombs, bath houses, piers, amphitheaters, and homes was so good that many of these structures still stand today, defying the expected ravages of time.
Scientists seeking to unlock the secrets of the Roman concrete masters have now experienced a breakthrough , as a result of an analysis completed on a large cylindrical tomb that was built to house the remains of a first-century BC noblewoman named Caecilia Metella.
Working with funding provided by the United States Department of Energy, University of Utah geophysicist Marie Jackson teamed up with Linda Seymour and Admir Masic from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Nobumichi Tamura from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to carry out an in-depth study of the materials and methods used to construct Caecilia Metella’s tomb . They were interested in learning more about the rock used to make the Roman concrete, and especially about the mortar that was used to bind the concrete blocks together.
What they’ve discovered could be highly relevant to the building industry today, as construction experts seek ways to build structures that can last as long as those that were erected by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago.
But why did this fabulous tomb last so long, and remain in such good shape? As it turns out, the secret can be found in the glue that was used to put it together.
Discovering the Truth about the Best Mortar Ever Made
As Marie Jackson and the other scientists explained in an article about their research published in the Journal of the American Ceramic Society , they used the most powerful and up-to-date scientific tools available to examine the chemical and physical microstructure of the Roman concrete and mortar used in Caecilia Metella’s tomb.
The ancient Romans didn´t use poured cement to make concrete. Instead, they used volcanic rock aggregates to build coarse brick walls. While volcanic rock will break down and crumble eventually, in just two or three thousand years it won´t decay much in comparison to other types of building materials.
The scientists discovered this volcanic aggregate was bound together with Roman concrete mortar made from hydrated lime and volcanic tephra (small, porous pieces of volcanic glass and crystal created during eruptions). The latter was available in abundance near Rome, as a result of ancient volcanic eruptions in the region.
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Originally Posted by Common
