The story of concrete begins a long time before the bustling amount of modern architecture, tracing its origins to the ancient civilizations which first discovered its properties. The Romans are credited with being the very first concrete builders, constructing structures such as the Pantheon and aqueducts that that continue to stand to this day. Their secret was a special mixture called opus caementicium, which incorporated volcanic ash, lime, and water, yielding an exceptionally durable material that was able to set not only on land, but also underwater.

The origins of concrete, however, are interweaved with an even older timeline. During more ancient times, early forms of proto-concrete were utilized around 6500 BC in what is now Syria and Jordan by using quicklime mortars mixed with aggregates to form rudimentary floors and underground cisterns. These beginnings underline the intuitive drive of humanity, long before scientific developments took hold toward the creative and effective utilization of natural resources.

What makes concrete different from any other building material is the fact that it adapted through millennia while continuously changing. Unlike metals or wood which do not tend to change much in their material composition, each epoch brought a new concrete admixture or technique, such as reinforced concrete, to meet the ever-growing infrastructural demands of society. Today’s high-performance concretes are incorporating environmentally sensitive components such as fly ash and recycled materials, enabling a greener construction product without sacrificing one iota of strength. The concrete industry sits on the shoulders of giants, those ancient innovators who realized that mixing earth’s elements in novel ways could enhance the their architectural endeavors.