The durability of ancient Roman concrete was a mystery until now—leading research universities MIT and Harvard claimed to have figured it all out and are preparing “a modern version of the recipe” for the market. This carries great implications for the sustainability and longevity of buildings as it is no secret that the Roman structures that have endured through the present time have survived some 2,000 years.
After much testing, researchers found that ancient Romanes infused concrete with quicklime (this is lime “in its purest state) and because of this, the material gained what has been described as “self-healing properties.” The researchers found that ancient Roman concrete was also subject to hot mixing—a process that releases a lot of heat and “gives the lime cast a ‘brittle nanoparticulate architecture.'”
Image Credit: Harvard, MIT
