The two-thousand-year-old staircase that survived the “volcano”
This discovery introduces researchers to the construction techniques of Rome's most prominent structures.
According to Faradid, researchers have recently discovered an ancient structure in the ancient and ruined city of Pompeii, which has shed new light on construction techniques thousands of years ago. Apparently, this structure was just under construction when the volcanic eruption covered the construction area under ash for two thousand years.
At the time of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius (or Vesuvius) in AD 79, workers at the site were probably rebuilding a house. Archaeologists found piles of limestone, stone, ceramics, tiles, bricks and tools that were left under the layers of volcanic ash.
The excavation provides new information on how the ancient Romans mixed cement. The workers appear to have built the cement walls by “hot mixing”; A technique in which quicklime is mixed with pozzolanic sand and water.
When water is added to quicklime, a heat reaction occurs. Typically, this step is done some time before construction begins. However, the workers at Pompeii did not pre-wet the quicklime. Instead, they preferred to first mix lime with pozzolanic sand and then add water shortly before construction.
Result: Since the walls were built while the mixture was still hot, the drying time was shortened.
This is another example that, with its discovery, the small city of Pompeii introduces us to the great Roman Empire more than before, this time with the use of cement. Without cement, we would have no Colosseum, no Pantheon, and no Baths of Caracalla.
Hot mixing technique has also been used for the reconstruction of existing structures. They probably used durable cement for repairs after the great earthquake of 62 AD (17 years before the Vesuvius eruption).
Additionally, researchers found a mythological painting depicting Achilles on the island of Skyros inside a house near a newly discovered ancient bakery.
In this area, a series of Roman numerals were also written with charcoal, which the researchers believe are the notes of the builders, as well as tools such as lead weights for lifting heavy walls and iron shovels for mixing mortar were found.
This discovery not only increases researchers' understanding of the daily life of the Romans, but also helps to understand valuable lessons about sustainability and reuse of materials.
Pompeii is like a treasure chest whose wonders have yet to be fully discovered.
