Curated category
Building materials
- ConcreteConcrete floors appeared in the royal palace of Tiryns, Greece, dating to 1400 BC. Lime mortars were used in Crete and Cyprus by 800 BC.
- Stainless steelIn 1798, Louis Vauquelin presented chromium to the French Academy for the first time. This element would eventually become the key ingredient in a new type…
- BrickThe oldest discovered bricks, originally made from shaped mud and dating before 7500 BC, were found at Tell Aswad in the upper Tigris region.
- SteelAt 910 degrees Celsius, pure iron transforms from a body-centred cubic structure into a face-centred cubic form called gamma iron.
- CementA bag of cement powder sits ready to be mixed with sand and gravel. This substance is a hydraulic binder that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials.
- Roman concreteThe harbor of Caesarea in Roman Judaea rose from the sea between 22 BC and 15 BC. Massive quantities of pozzolana arrived from Puteoli to build its…
- Cast ironIn 1948, engineers developed a new form of cast iron that changed the material's behavior forever. This ductile cast iron contains graphite in the shape of…
- WoodIn the Canadian province of New Brunswick, scientists uncovered plant fossils dating back approximately 395 to 400 million years.
- MasonryThe construction of the Egyptian pyramids stands as one of the earliest and most enduring examples of masonry in human history.