In the quest to build better for the future, some are looking for answers in the long-ago past.
Ancient builders across the world created structures that are still standing today, thousands of years later 91裸聊视频� from Roman engineers who poured thick concrete sea barriers, to Maya masons who crafted plaster sculptures to their gods, to Chinese builders who raised walls against invaders.
Yet scores of more recent structures are already staring down their expiration dates: The concrete that makes up much of our modern world has a lifespan of around 50 to 100 years.
A growing number of scientists have been studying materials from long-ago eras 91裸聊视频� chipping off chunks of buildings, poring over historical texts, mixing up copycat recipes 91裸聊视频� hoping to uncover how they91裸聊视频檝e held up for millennia.
This reverse engineering has turned up a surprising list of ingredients that were mixed into old buildings 91裸聊视频� materials such as tree bark, volcanic ash, rice, beer and even urine. These unexpected add-ins could be key some pretty impressive properties, like the ability to get stronger over time and 91裸聊视频渉eal91裸聊视频� cracks when they form.
Figuring out how to copy those features could have real impacts today: While our modern concrete has the strength to hold up massive skyscrapers and heavy infrastructure, it can91裸聊视频檛 compete with the endurance of these ancient materials.
And with the rising threats of climate change, there91裸聊视频檚 a growing call to make construction more sustainable. A estimates that the built environment is responsible for more than a third of global CO2 emissions 91裸聊视频� and cement production alone makes up more than 7% of those emissions.
91裸聊视频淚f you improve the properties of the material by using 91裸聊视频� traditional recipes from Maya people or the ancient Chinese, you can produce material that can be used in modern construction in a much more sustainable way,91裸聊视频� said Carlos Rodriguez-Navarro, a cultural heritage researcher at Spain91裸聊视频檚 University of Granada.
Is ancient Roman concrete better than today91裸聊视频檚?
Many researchers have turned to the Romans for inspiration. Starting around 200 BCE, the architects of the Roman Empire were building impressive concrete structures that have stood the test of time 91裸聊视频� from the soaring dome of the Pantheon to the sturdy aqueducts that still carry water today.
Even in harbors, where seawater has been battering structures for ages, you91裸聊视频檒l find concrete 91裸聊视频渂asically the way it was when it was poured 2,000 years ago,91裸聊视频� said John Oleson, an archaeologist at the University of Victoria in Canada.
Most modern concrete starts with Portland cement, a powder made by heating limestone and clay to super-high temperatures and grinding them up. That cement is mixed with water to create a chemically reactive paste. Then, chunks of material like rock and gravel are added, and the cement paste binds them into a concrete mass.
According to records from ancient architects like Vitruvius, the Roman process was similar. The ancient builders mixed materials like burnt limestone and volcanic sand with water and gravel, creating chemical reactions to bind everything together.
Now, scientists think they91裸聊视频檝e found a key reason why some Roman concrete has held up structures for thousands of years: The ancient material has an unusual power to repair itself. Exactly how is not yet clear, but scientists are starting to find clues.
In a , Admir Masic, a civil and environmental engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, proposed that this power comes from chunks of lime that are studded throughout the Roman material instead of being mixed in evenly. Researchers used to think these chunks were a sign that the Romans weren91裸聊视频檛 mixing up their materials well enough.
Instead, after analyzing concrete samples from Privernum 91裸聊视频� an ancient city outside of Rome 91裸聊视频� the scientists found that the chunks could fuel the material91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频渟elf-healing91裸聊视频� abilities. When cracks form, water is able to seep into the concrete, Masic explained. That water activates the leftover pockets of lime, sparking up new chemical reactions that can fill in the damaged sections.
Marie Jackson, a geologist at the University of Utah, has a different take. has found that the key could be in the specific volcanic materials used by the Romans.
The builders would gather volcanic rocks left behind after eruptions to mix into their concrete. This naturally reactive material changes over time as it interacts with the elements, Jackson said, allowing it to seal cracks that develop.
The ability to keep adapting over time 91裸聊视频渋s truly the genius of the material,91裸聊视频� Jackson said. 91裸聊视频淭he concrete was so well designed that it sustains itself.91裸聊视频�
Using tree juice to make sculptures as strong as seashells
At Copan, a Maya site in Honduras, intricate lime sculptures and temples remain intact even after more than 1,000 years exposed to a hot, humid environment. And according to a , the secret to these structures91裸聊视频� longevity might lie in the trees that sprout among them.
Researchers here had a living link to the structures91裸聊视频� creators: They met with local masons in Honduras who traced their lineage all the way back to the Mayan builders, explained Rodriguez-Navarro, who worked on the study.
The masons suggested using extracts from local chukum and jiote trees in the lime mix. When researchers tested out the recipe 91裸聊视频� collecting bark, putting the chunks in water and adding the resulting tree 91裸聊视频渏uice91裸聊视频� into the material 91裸聊视频� they found the resulting plaster was especially durable against physical and chemical damage.
When scientists zoomed in, they saw that bits of organic material from the tree juice got incorporated into the plaster91裸聊视频檚 molecular structure. In this way, the Mayan plaster was able to mimic sturdy natural structures like seashells and sea urchin spines 91裸聊视频� and borrow some of their toughness, Rodriguez-Navarro said.
Studies have found all kinds of natural materials mixed into structures from long ago: fruit extracts, milk, cheese curd, beer, even dung and urine. The mortar that holds together some of China91裸聊视频檚 most famous structures 91裸聊视频� including the Great Wall and the Forbidden City 91裸聊视频� includes .
Luck or skill?
Some of these ancient builders might have just gotten lucky, said Cecilia Pesce, a materials scientist at the University of Sheffield in England. They91裸聊视频檇 toss just about anything into their mixes, as long as it was cheap and available 91裸聊视频� and the ones that didn91裸聊视频檛 work out have long since collapsed.
91裸聊视频淭hey would put all sorts of things in construction,91裸聊视频� Pesce said. 91裸聊视频淎nd now, we only have the buildings that survived. So it91裸聊视频檚 like a natural selection process.91裸聊视频�
But some materials seem to show more intention 91裸聊视频� like in India, where builders crafted blends of local materials to produce different properties, said Thirumalini Selvaraj, a civil engineer and professor at India91裸聊视频檚 Vellore Institute of Technology.
According to Selvaraj91裸聊视频檚 research, in humid areas of India, builders used local herbs that help structures deal with moisture. Along the coast, they added jaggery, an unrefined sugar, which can help protect from salt damage. And in areas with higher earthquake risks, they used super-light 91裸聊视频渇loating bricks91裸聊视频� made with rice husks.
91裸聊视频淭hey know the region, they know the soil condition, they know the climate,91裸聊视频� Selvaraj said. 91裸聊视频淪o they engineer a material according to this.91裸聊视频�
Ancient Roman 91裸聊视频� skyscrapers?
Today91裸聊视频檚 builders can91裸聊视频檛 just copy the ancient recipes. Even though Roman concrete lasted a long time, it couldn91裸聊视频檛 hold up heavy loads: 91裸聊视频淵ou couldn91裸聊视频檛 build a modern skyscraper with Roman concrete,91裸聊视频� Oleson said. 91裸聊视频淚t would collapse when you got to the third story.91裸聊视频�
Instead, researchers are trying to take some of the ancient material91裸聊视频檚 specialties and add them into modern mixes. Masic is part of a startup that is trying to build new projects using Roman-inspired, 91裸聊视频渟elf-healing91裸聊视频� concrete. And Jackson is working with the Army Corps of Engineers to design concrete structures that can hold up well in seawater 91裸聊视频� like the ones in Roman ports 91裸聊视频� to help protect coastlines from sea level rise.
We don91裸聊视频檛 need to make things last quite as long as the Romans did to have an impact, Masic said. If we add 50 or 100 years to concrete91裸聊视频檚 lifespan, 91裸聊视频渨e will require less demolition, less maintenance and less material in the long run.91裸聊视频�
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute91裸聊视频檚 Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Maddie Burakoff, The Associated Press
