Concrete has been used in some of the earliest and most well known structures in the world. The leading example given for the origins of concrete construction is the Pantheon in Rome. A massive unreinforced concrete dome tops this structure with a diameter of 43 metres, Built in its current form in the first century it is still the largest of its type in the world. However a dissenting voice in the schools of science has arisen over the last 30 odd years. This school of thought claims that the originators of concrete may not have been the Romans at all. It may in fact be the Egyptians predating use of concrete by the Roman civilization by around 2,000 years.

Great Pyramids have a very high water contact – common in concrete stone.

Alternate theory.

When we think of the construction of the pyramids often we visualise vast slave squads hauling monolithic stones grinding along on log rollers. But Michel Barsoum, a native Egyptian and Professor of Material Sciences and Engineering at the lauded Drexel University in Philadelphia has made some discoveries that lend veracity to an alternate theory. It all began when Michel was contacted about a theory proposed by Joseph Davidovitz some thirty years before when he was the Director of the Geopolymer Institute in France. The theory stated that the top most stones of the great pyramid were not in fact hauled there, but poured into place. Professor Barsoum initially thought the idea preposterous and agreed to a cursory examination that he expected to take no more than two hours. Some five years later Professor Barsoum published some very interesting results.

On December 1st 2006 Professor Michel Barsoum published his peer-reviewed findings in the Journal of the American Ceramic Society. Through analysis of around 1,000 samples Barsoum and his team discovered that the structures in the limestone blocks on top of the great pyramid were consistent with reconstituted limestone. They also surmised that limestone aggregate was bound by silicon dioxide cement.

Additional factors also weigh heavily in the new theory’s favour. The limestone blocks topping the Great Pyramids have a very high water contact – common in concrete stone and highly unusual fornaturally occurring limestone in a desert location. Also the molecular structure is amorphic (i.e. with out defined shape) whereas naturally sedimentary rocks are nearly never amorphous.

The research team also discovered nanoscale spheres made of silicon dioxide within the blocks, which are never present within natural limestone. This evidence serves to make the Ancient Egyptians the very first nanotechnologists.

In summation Barsoum said “It’s very improbable that the outer and inner casing stones that we examined were chiselled from a natural limestone block.” And went on to add: “The basic raw materials used for this early form of concrete… can be found virtually anywhere in the world… Replicating this method of construction would be cost effective, long lasting, and much more environmentally friendly than the current building material of choice.”

“Ironically,” Barsoum said, “this study of 4,500 year old rocks is not about the past, but about the future.”

Thankyou for reading this article on the origins of Concrete.

For your more modern concreters in Brisbane  please click here.

Jamie Grant

Babylonians created the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Water has profoundly influenced... the growth, and decay of all cultures.

Bathing In Babylon.

Plumbing is a ubiquitous aspect of our lives. We don’t think about it, we barely see it, seldom acknowledge it and only speak about it in any meaningful fashion when it is broken. Yet plumbing has underpinned civilization since the dawn of… well, civilization. Water for drinking, for cooking, for cleaning and for waste removal have all been instrumental and central to any human habitation no matter how primitive or basic. Whether hand drawn from wells, or ported in copper pipes by the Egyptians, or even plumbed in lead by the Romans the distribution of water has profoundly influenced the growth, and decay of all cultures.

The ancient civilization of Babylon: One of the earliest agrarian societies that history remembers perhaps nearly 3000 years B.C. Saddled between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers the ancient Babylonians regarded the power of water with awe and respect. Yet also knew that the power of water had to be reigned over, controlled and placated with aqueducts, dams and pipes. Such was the Babylonians mastery over water and even hydraulic systems that they created the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon. A soaring structure over 170 feet high in places and filled with luxuriant plants from all over the known world. The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II had the enormous gardens built to placate his homesick wife and filled the gardens with plants of her homeland. How he managed the raise the estimate 37,000 litres of water that the garden required daily is still something of a mystery. Some say that an early version of Archimedes screw was used, but this theory has been strongly refuted as no evidence of any such device existed anywhere before 250BC when Archimedes was to have invented it. Though how the garden was maintained may be a mystery there is no doubting that the Hanging Garden of Babylon was one of lush magnificence filled with succulent fruits, abundant growth and over whelming beauty made all the more astonishing by the apparent impossibility of its existence.

No Bodgey Babylonians!

However the Babylonians applied their mastery to some of the more basic aspects of living and had complex interlinked tunnels to transport waste and water away from the living areas to deep clay lined pits. These early plumbers, builders and architects had to be willing to bet their lives on the endurance of their constructions, for Hammurabi, the sixth King of ancient Babylon wrote a code of Law that is one of the oldest known texts of the world. He gave us such gems of law as the Lex Talionis or ‘An eye for an eye’, for those who skipped Latin at school. This statute of law gives the right to demand an equal measure of punishment for the transgression suffered. So if your house fell over and killed you, those responsible for its construction must also suffer the same fate.  Perhaps if your sewerage system failed you could take all the poo back to the plumber and dump it as his door. Now that would be Justice.

For all your modern day plumbing essentials please contact Allfix Plumbers Brisbane. or visit http://allfixplumbing.com.au/

Thanks for reading this article, I hope you enjoyed it.

Jamie Grant

Jamie Grant

Jamie manages business facebook pages and is also a copyright author for NY Media. Contact us to engage your audience by employing Jamies’ services.