Tiny Minerals Keep Strengthening Ancient Rome's Concrete

What's so special about ancient Rome's concrete? Well, it just might be "the most durable building material in human history," as one engineer puts it, per the Washington Post. 

A new study in American Mineralogist sheds further light onto why: Romans mixed a specific volcanic ash with lime to create a concrete similar to stone, perfect for building sea walls that have lasted some 2,000 years. 

The key ingredient, however, was continually added by nature. Researchers at the University of Utah who studied minerals in Roman concrete samples say seawater crashing against concrete sea walls caused a chemical reaction that helped strengthen the material over time. In other words, the concrete is actually stronger today than when it was made.

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