We Finally Know Why Roman Concrete Has Survived For Nearly 2,000 Years

A construction site dating back nearly 2,000 years to the putative demise of Pompeii in 79 CE has revealed new evidence for the secret behind Ancient Rome's ultra-durable concrete.

Last year, from under the volcanic ash that buried Pompeii, archaeologists uncovered a fully intact construction site – a rare snapshot of Roman building work frozen in time.

That site includes neatly organized piles of materials, including the ingredients used to mix the famously durable concrete behind monuments such as the Pantheon, whose vast unreinforced dome has stood for millennia.

Related: You Won't Believe What Scientists Found in an Ancient Roman Ruin

A brand new analysis reveals that the secret is a technique that materials scientist Admir Masic of the Massachusetts Institute of Technol