Hot take: I laughed at that 'Roman concrete' theory for years

My professor in college swore Roman concrete was just lucky chemistry. Told me the self-healing property was a myth. Then I visited a dig in Pozzuoli last summer and saw a harbor structure still standing after 2,000 years of seawater. Cracked my skepticism wide open. Anyone else get humbled by actual field evidence?

3 comments

3 Comments

zarat378d ago

Did your buddy actually see the cracks heal up or just the structure still standing? My friend Sarah is a marine archaeologist and she told me about a Roman breakwater in Greece that had this massive crack running through it. They took core samples and found the crack was filled with this new mineral growth that basically glued it back together. She said it looked like the concrete had scabbed over like a wound. That firsthand stuff changes your mind real quick.

matthewking8d ago

Wait, they actually saw the crack closing up over time or just found it already healed? A buddy of mine works on an old fishing boat down in the Gulf and they pulled up this chunk of concrete from some unknown wreck near a jetty. He said the thing looked like it had a gash across it, but when they brought it in for a look, the edges were all crusted over with this white-yellow growth that felt harder than the actual concrete. He swore it was like the crack was trying to seal itself, and you could see little crystals filling in the gaps when they chipped some off. Kinda creepy how stuff just fixes itself underwater without anyone lifting a finger.

patricia_hill608d ago

That "scabbed over like a wound" thing your friend said is pretty accurate, actually. It's called bioclogging, where microbes and minerals in the water basically fill in cracks over time, so it's not instant like magic but it does happen without anyone touching it.