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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Nicola Davis Science correspondent

DARK SECRETS: Self healing roman concrete could aid modern construction study suggests | Vintage Vibes

The Pantheon in Rome
‘The Pantheon would not exist without the concrete as it was in the Roman time,’ said Prof Admir Masic, lead author of the study. Photograph: Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images

They have stood through the fall of an empire, the carnage of great wars and the foundation of a new country. But quite why structures made using Roman concrete are so durable has remained something of a mystery.

Now researchers say they have discovered one possible explanation: the technique used to make the material may have helped to give it self-healing properties.

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