The Mystery of Why Roman Buildings Have Survived for Millennia古羅馬建筑千年不倒的秘密

The majestic structures of ancient Rome have survived for millennia—a testament to the ingenuity of Roman engineers， who perfected the use of concrete. But how did their construction materials help keep colossal buildings like the Pantheon （which has the worlds largest unreinforced dome） and the Colosseum standing for millennia？

Roman concrete， in many cases， has proven to be longer-lasting than its modern equivalent， which can deteriorate within decades. Scientists behind a study say they have uncovered the mystery ingredient that allowed the Romans to make their construction material so durable and build elaborate structures in challenging places such as docks， sewers and earthquake zones.

The study team， including researchers from the United States， Italy and Switzerland， analyzed 2，000-year-old concrete samples that were taken from a city wall at the archaeological site of Privernum， in central Italy， and are similar in composition to other concrete found throughout the Roman Empire.

古羅馬雄偉的建筑已經存在了上千年，這證明了古羅馬工程師的聰明才智，他們完善了混凝土的使用。但是，他們的建筑材料如何幫助萬神殿（擁有世界上最大的未經鋼筋加固的圓頂）和羅馬斗獸場等巨型建筑屹立上千年不倒呢？

在許多情況下，古羅馬時期的混凝土已被證明比現代混凝土更耐用，現代混凝土可能在幾十年內受損。從事一項研究的科學家們表示，他們發現一種神秘的原料，這種原料使古羅馬人能夠制造出非常耐用的建筑材料，可以在碼頭、下水道和地震區等具有挑戰性的地方建造出精致的建筑。

包括來自美國、意大利和瑞士的研究人員在內的研究小組分析了從意大利中部考古遺址普里韋爾諾的一處城墻上采集的2000年前的混凝土樣本，其成分與羅馬帝國各地發現的其他混凝土相似。

They found that white chunks in the concrete， referred to as lime clasts， gave the concrete the ability to heal cracks that formed over time. The white chunks previously had been overlooked as evidence of sloppy mixing or poor-quality raw material.

The new finding could help make manufacturing todays concrete more sustainable， potentially shaking up society as the Romans once did. “Concrete allowed the Romans to have an architectural revolution，” said Masic， a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Romans were able to create and turn the cities into something that is extraordinary and beautiful to live in. And that revolution basically changed? the way humans live.”

他們發現，混凝土中有一種被稱為“石灰碎屑”的白色塊，使混凝土能夠愈合隨著時間的推移形成的裂縫。這些白色塊之前被忽視了，人們誤認為是不小心混合進去的或是質量不佳的原材料。

這一新發現可能有助于把現在的混凝土制造成更耐用的材料，可能會像古羅馬人那樣對整個社會產生顛覆性的影響。“混凝土讓古羅馬人進行了一場建筑革命。”美國麻省理工學院的教授馬希奇說，“古羅馬人能夠創造城市，并把城市變成奇美的住所。這場革命基本上改變了人類的生活方式。”

Word Bank

equivalent /?'kw?v?l?nt/ n. 相等的東西

sample /'sɑ?mpl/ n. 樣本，樣品

overlook /'??v?'l?k/ v. 忽略；未注意到

manufacture /'m?nju'f?kt??（r）/ v. 生產；制造