Ancient Roman architecture made with self-healing concrete, study finds

A woman crosses the street in front of the Pantheon undergoing renovations, in Paris, Tuesday Feb. 25, 2014. The dome of Paris’ Pantheon is undergoing renovation, and the construction site itself will become a work of art _ as well ...A new study appears to have cracked the code on why ancient Roman architecture such as the Pantheon and certain still-functioning aqueducts are so durable: self-regenerating concrete.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and in Italy and Switzerland found that the Romans used a process called “hot mixing,” which causes the concrete to recrystallize automatically when cracks start to form.

Hot mixing took place because lime…