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Builders and engineers

60 second histories

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A description of the amazing construction projects undertaken by Roman builders such as the Coliseum and the Cloaca Maxima and includes the concrete they made and the fabulous arches

As well as being a centurion I have a trade, I am somewhat of a builder, which is very useful in the army as we build as we go, roads, bridges they’re all started by the army. Something that has made things a little easier for us is concrete, we make it by mixing volcanic ash with water and then adding stones to it to give extra strength. If you pour this concrete into the inside cavity of a wall when it dries it becomes incredibly strong. I like it best when we build rounded arches, we place stones around a wooden arch and then drop a keystone in on the top to lock every thing in place. With these arches we can build aqueducts to carry water all the way from the hills to the towns, we can also build magnificent buildings like the Coliseum in Rome but the best I’ve ever heard of are the famous sewers underneath Rome their called the Cloaca Maxima and have been constructed to take away the filth of Rome. Do you know they are so big that the engineers can even sail a boat through them. Can you imagine that?
Eras: 
Roman
Topics: 
Buildings & Structures
Character: 
Centurion
Key words: 
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