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The Conversation
The Conversation
Ray Laurence, Professor of Ancient History, Macquarie University

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 Pompeii

Roman 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.

However, there’s a lot we still don’t understand about exactly how the Romans made such strong concrete or built all those impressive buildings, houses, public baths, bridges and roads.

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