One of the most interesting things about Roman architecture is that they had a virtuosic command of concrete, so they could build massive structures like the Coliseum. Unfortunately, when the Roman Empire collapsed, their technical knowledge of concrete was totally lost, and it was centuries before the secrets of concrete were rediscovered, and it became a ubiquitous building material again.
The Romans were so good with concrete that they figured out a special recipe for underwater concrete (for harbors, bridges, etc.) that used the salt water to create a chemical reaction that made the underwater concrete so hard, that much of it still exists today. It was such a deep secret, that scientists didn’t figure it out until the last couple of decades.
One of the most interesting things about Roman architecture is that they had a virtuosic command of concrete, so they could build massive structures like the Coliseum. Unfortunately, when the Roman Empire collapsed, their technical knowledge of concrete was totally lost, and it was centuries before the secrets of concrete were rediscovered, and it became a ubiquitous building material again.
The Romans were so good with concrete that they figured out a special recipe for underwater concrete (for harbors, bridges, etc.) that used the salt water to create a chemical reaction that made the underwater concrete so hard, that much of it still exists today. It was such a deep secret, that scientists didn’t figure it out until the last couple of decades.