The Pompeii site, rediscovered only in the 16th century, has seen a burst of recent archaeological activity aimed at halting years of decay and neglect.
Pompeii, an ancient Roman city located in the modern commune of Pompeii near Italy, was buried under 4 to 6 metres of volcanic ash and pumice during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in CE 79. / Photo: Reuters
The site was probably active until the volcanic Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE, destroying Pompeii in southern Italy, the ministry said in a statement. The Romans had an original technique for making cement, the ministry said, citing findings by the archaeologists who worked with researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Concrete appeared to have been made through "hot mixing", whereby quicklime was initially mixed with dry pozzolana, or pozzolanic ash, with water added only shortly before walls were erected.
This meant that during wall construction, the mixture of lime, pozzolana and stones was still hot due to a thermal reaction.Archaeologists discovered a Roman construction site containing tools, tiles, lime piles, and stacked tuff bricks, likely active during the eruption, serving as a "time capsule" of ancient Roman construction techniques.
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