Posted on 10/30/2019 12:51:32 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The Romans were some of the most sophisticated builders of the ancient world. Over the centuries, they adopted an increasingly advanced set of materials and technologies to create their famous structures. To distinguish the time periods over which these improvements took place, historians and archaeologists typically measure the colours, shapes and consistencies of the bricks and mortar used by the Romans, along with historical sources. In new research published in EPJ Plus, Francesca Rosi and colleagues at the Italian National Research Council improved on these techniques through scientific analysis of the materials used to build the Roman Forum's Atrium Vestae. They found that successive phases of modification to the building saw improvements including higher quality raw materials, higher brick firing temperatures, and better ratios between carbonate and silicate building materials.
(Excerpt) Read more at brightsurf.com ...
Not just in concrete, but also their expansion of the use of prefab terracotta components for homes, aided the sheer scale on which Romanized citizens were able to construct homes, villas, private baths, etc.
I should have had those Romans pour my new driveway.
Cracked in a year.
It really is amazing how constant empirical experimentation led to improvements. The same happened with metallurgy, ceramics, glass, and many other materials.
That road is 2300 years old?
They must not have had Democrat County Commissioners.
Interestingly, the Romans added powdered volcanic ash to their concrete mix, which made it very much stronger. This was rediscovered only a few years ago and now modern cement includes this material.
“This was rediscovered only a few years ago and now modern cement includes this material”
Except in places without volcanoes, like NJ. If the architect wants to, they can substitue fly ash from factory chimneys.
So when the Empire collapsed and the market for that technology disappeared, so did the technology.
I have read some translations of a 5th century nobleman's complaints in Gaul that he had to bathe in the rivers because he couldn't find anyone who knew how to repair the baths in his villa.
One could say that Roman architectural design vaulted forward, not simply one dome idea after another.
very cool
brilliant use of low angle illumination
***modern cement includes this material.***
Close. Modern cement uses fly ash from Wyoming coal in it’s concrete. We found, in our power plant fly ash, the fly ash can be mixed with water and within 30 minutes will be hot and hard.
I took a wax paper cup, filled it half full with fly ash, added water to the mixture of heavy cream, and within 20 minutes the was was melting off the cup, the mixture was already hard. Could not get the spoon out.
Our plant sells the fly ash to cement companies.
See What those Romans caused with their architectural designs!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fornication
In Latin, the term fornix means arch or vault. In Ancient Rome, prostitutes waited for their customers out of the rain under vaulted ceilings, and fornix became a euphemism for brothels, and the Latin verb fornicare referred to a man visiting a brothel.
From which we get “porn”.
The word “lobbyist” has a similar origin, only we’re the ones getting screwed, not the politicians.
My 7 year old 3-car garage/shop was built on a monolithic slab of high strength concrete using 6% fly ash...So far no cracks!
Thanks to the supplier who recommended the ash, and told me I’d thank him later...
I was talking about ancient science with a guy I ran into today. What he knew was fascinating. Mainly ancient Greek architecture.
We had 2 encyclopedias when I was a kid. The best was a 1940’s Funk and Wagner. The entry they had on the building of the Roman roads was many pages. I remember sitting on the floor on of the basement, reading all of it with total enjoyment.
I also remember the joy of reading various random entries in the encyclopedia. My grandfather had a wonderful book series “Ingenious Mechanisms for Inventors and Designers” originally published in 1930. I remember pursuing that endlessly when I was about 12 years old back in 1962.
The simple joys of opening books and exploring and discovering things is long gone, I’m afraid. Those were good days. You’ll never get that browsing the web.
I always wondered what calculating system the Romans used in their construction. Multiplying mmcvii y cciii, etc. must have been a pain.
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