Overview
- An MIT‑led team reports in Nature Communications that samples from an unfinished 79 C.E. construction site at Pompeii provide on‑site confirmation of Roman hot‑mixing.
- Preserved lime clasts show quicklime was premixed dry with volcanic ash before water was added, contradicting the slaked‑lime method described by Vitruvius.
- Stable isotope and mineral analyses indicate pumice particles reacted with pore solutions over time to form new minerals that densified and strengthened the mortar.
- Researchers compared materials from dry ingredient piles, in‑progress walls, completed walls, and ancient repairs to track how the binder evolved.
- Lead author Admir Masic says the findings could inform next‑generation concretes, with translation efforts underway through his company DMAT.