Roman Concrete Secret: Why Ancient Harbors Are Getting Stronger
alyzza may
If you drop a block of modern standard concrete into the ocean, the salty seawater will slowly chew it apart. Within a few decades, chemical reactions erode the material, causing micro-cracks that eventually lead to catastrophic structural failure. Yet, two-thousand-year-old Roman piers, breakwaters, and harbor structures still stand completely intact across the Mediterranean coastline. Even more baffling to modern geologists and engineers: these structures are actually stronger today than they