In recent years, scientists have looked into how ancient Roman concrete, as seen in famous monuments, roads, and forums, have lasted so long. Concrete that lasts over 2,000 years is worth looking into! Learn about the fascinating facts of ancient Roman self-repairing concrete below!

Have You Heard about Ancient Roman Self-Repairing Concrete?

It’s easy to think that concrete is a great material when you see how long ancient Roman concrete has lasted. However, the truth is that ancient Roman concrete is not the same as today’s concrete.

This ancient concrete is made of unique ingredients, namely water, calcium carbonate, and volcanic ash. The ancient Romans used a hot mix process to combine the materials in a way that created lime clasts, small particles of lime that dot the concrete. This process is very complex, and to this day, no one is exactly sure how it was made.

Even so, scientists have discovered at least one aspect of this ancient concrete that they are starting to try to create in concrete today: self-repairing concrete cracks. The lime clasts dissolve when they contact water and fill in any cracks in the concrete, requiring no additional materials or work on the part of concrete workers.

Concrete Today

Our version of concrete is not the same as ancient Roman self-repairing concrete. The kind we see today in sidewalks, roads, driveways, and more is a mixture of limestone, sand, clay, and water. The standard form of concrete is called Portland cement, created in 1824 by Joseph Aspdin in England out of limestone and clay. While we do not have volcanic tephra in our concrete or the same exact recipe, today’s concrete will last about fifty years or so with good maintenance.

Concrete Repair Services

Cleaning and sealing the concrete every few years helps prevent cracks from forming in the first place, andconcrete crack filling extends thepavement’s lifespan. If you need concrete repairs orinstallation in Maryland, Pennsylvania, or Delaware, contact Tri-State Paving!

Receive Asphalt Paving Services with Tri-State Paving

Call Tri-State Paving. We’re a seasoned asphalt pavement company based in Maryland and have the experience and knowledge to help you with asphalt, concrete, and hardscaping projects.

We refuse to sell hot air to our customers, and that’s why we have been around for over 4 decades. We listen, inform, educate then decide what is best for our customers project and budget. If any problems arise during construction we keep our customers updated and respond to make the imperfect perfect.

Our area numbers are:

West Chester: 610.563.9456

Oxford: 610.932.3566

Delaware: 302.757.4100

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Tags: ancient Roman concrete, how is concrete made, self-repairing concrete

This entry was posted on Friday, April 11th, 2025 at 8:08 pm and is filed under Concrete Paving. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.