Concrete History through the Ages
Despite the widespread belief that the Roman Empire began with the construction of the Colosseum in Rome, the history of concrete begins thousands of years earlier. The ancient people of the Roman Empire first built structures with concrete, and they discovered how useful it was as a building material. Moreover, the use of limestone in the creation of buildings was widespread. The Egyptians were the first to use it, and they used it to build pyramids. The Romans used the cement to build their pyramids.
The Romans used concrete for construction and the Colosseum. Although the Romans invented concrete in the fifth century AD, the ancient Egyptians first utilized it to build pyramids. A 9,000-year-old stone-and-clay structure built by desert traders was topped with limestone. The construction of the Gobekli Tepe temple was based on this cement, which is still used today. The first engineering use of cement was in 1832, when it was first used for bridges in London.
The Romans used volcanic ash to construct their structures, but they were not as advanced with their techniques as other cultures. The Greeks, on the other hand, incorporated it with stone to build their roads and buildings. While the Romans weren’t as advanced as other cultures, they still used the material for construction. The Greeks mixed limestone and lime to form concrete, and they eventually began using it for structures. But it wasn’t until the second century B.C. that concrete was made into purposeful structures.
The Egyptians used the substance as a building material, and it is still used today in modern-day residential structures. In the 17th century, the Dutch started selling it to other parts of Europe. By 1891, Britain had the technology to create the first concrete street in the world. The Dutch used the same ingredient to create the Eddystone Lighthouse. These materials were far stronger and more durable than the concrete used in the Eddystone Lighthouse.
Early builders made use of stones and other materials to build structures, but the ancient peoples were also aware of the power of these materials. They used mortar to hold stones together. The first concrete-based structures were found in ancient Jordan and Syria, where they were used for making flower pots. Interestingly, the ancient peoples also made use of natural cement deposits to build bridges and homes. These discoveries resulted in the birth of reinforced concrete, which has a long history in the world of construction.
As far as its origins are concerned, the Egyptians had already started to use cement to fuse bricks together. The Bedouins of northern Jordon and southern Syria used cement to build their walls and floors. During the Middle Ages, the use of concrete began to spread throughout the Mediterranean. The first known concrete was used in Europe in 700BC. By the 18th century, the use of the material had become common in many parts of the world.