How are Rome’s Monuments Still standing?

Brief 

Nearly 2,000 years on, how are the Colosseum and the Pantheon still standing despite earthquakes, floods and military conflicts?

Insight

nside the Colosseum’s stone and mortar bowl, visitors have ample space to picture the roaring crowds of more than 50,000 that once thronged to the arena for events ranging from bloody gladiatorial battles to opulent processions and chariot races.

Also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, the venue’s grand opening in 80 AD featured 100 straight days of games and gore that are said to have included the slaughter of some 9,000 animals. At four storeys tall and 188m across at its widest point, the oval structure remains the largest amphitheatre in the world.

Constructed around 40 years later, the Pantheon houses a mind-bending dome that spans 43m of air and culminates in a pupil-like circular window at its apex known as the oculus that floods the interior with natural light.

The name Pantheon, which combines the Greek words for “all” and “gods”, suggests a religious function, but some historians think the monument was mainly constructed to pay tribute to Roman emperors. Despite the ravages of time, the iconic half-sphere remains intact and is still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome.

When it came to building big, the Romans clearly knew what they were doing. Nearly 2,000 years after they were constructed, these two enormous and technically astounding structures have withstood earthquakes, floods and military conflicts, long outlasting the empire that spawned them and becoming physical embodiments of the enduring influence of Roman culture across the globe.

But how did ancient Rome accomplish such monumental, long-lasting architecture so long ago?

Engineers and materials scientists are still studying Roman structures today, and they say the secret is the marriage of ingenious design with an innovative recipe for concrete, a supremely durable and adaptable material that is still used the world over. While the Romans didn’t invent concrete, they certainly raised the bar for building with it.