When Was Concrete Invented?

The concrete of today – concrete with Portland cement – was invented in 1824 by Joseph Aspdin. The first concrete with limestone, however, was already used at 6500 BC by the Nabataea traders in today’s Syria and Jordan. Reinforced concrete was invented and patented by Joseph-Louis Lambot in 1848.

But how did concrete evolve over time? And where is it heading?

This roundup will reveal key facts about the history of concrete and its future development.

The Development Of Concrete Over Time

Here’s a quick overview of how concrete has developed from 6500 BC to today.

Time	Concrete characteristics	Concrete elements	Location
6500 BC	Hydraulic lime	Houses, floors and cisterns	Northern Jordan and southern Syria (Nabataea traders)
5600 BC	Lime, sand, water and gravel	Floor	Today’s Serbia
3000 BC – 700 BC	Mortar from gypsum and clay – later: lime mortar	Walls, floors and the Great Wall	China
3000 BC	Bricks made from mud and straw	Bricks	Egypt
500 BC	Pozzolanic material Santorin	Houses	Greece
200 BC	Pozzolans with hydraulic properties. This type hardened under water	Buildings like Porticus Aemilia and baths	Rome/Italy (Roman Empire)
500 – 1500	Concrete was not used. Knowledge was lost	–	Europe (Middle Ages)
1793	Hydraulic lime; limestone contained clay which was heated until it turned into clinker	Eddystone lighthouse	England
1824	Invention of Portland cement, sand, aggregates and water	–	England
1848	Reinforced concrete	First: small water tanks and drinking fountains; later: floors; today: columns, walls, floors, beams, bridges, etc.	France
1990s	3D printed concrete: secret mixture of manufacturers	Walls and beams	Global
–	Reuse of concrete	Walls, slabs, beams, columns	Global

History Of Concrete (Top Picks)

1. Nabataea traders (ca. 6500 BC)

• Used hydraulic lime to build houses, concrete floors and cisterns
• Limestone is heated to produce hydraulic lime, which is a type of cement
• Nabataea traders live in the regions of northern Jordan and southern Syria

2. Yugoslavia (ca. 5600 BC)

• A 25 cm thick concrete floor was discovered in Yugoslavia (today: Serbia)
• It dates back to roughly, 5600 BC
• Concrete composition: lime, sand, water and gravel

3. Egypt and China (ca. 3000 BC)

• China: mortar was produced from burning gypsum and clay (3000 – 1000 BC)
• China: Walls and floor made from lime mortar were found at the Yellow River (2800 – 2300 BC)
• China: Later lime mortar was utilized in the construction of the Great Wall (ca. 700 BC)
• Egypt: Bricks made from mud and straw (ca. 3000 BC)

4. Greeks (ca. 500 BC)

• On the island Santorini, the Greeks built with the pozzolanic material Santorin, which is highly siliceous and volcanic (500 – 300 BC)

5. Romans (ca. 200 BC)

• Romans introduced pozzolans with hydraulic properties. Compared to earlier concretes with lime, this type hardened under water
• Sources claim that the Romans have properbly learned from the Greeks, which used lime mortar at the time
• Example of a concrete structure: Porticus Aemilia in Rome – 487 m long (193 BC)
• Later, concrete was used to build Roman baths

6. Middle Ages (500 – 1500)

• During the Middle Ages, concrete wasn’t used any more and the knowledge of concrete construction was lost

7. Hydraulic lime (1793)

• John Smeaton found a new method where he produced hydraulic lime for concrete
• The limestone contained clay which was heated until it turned into clinker.
• The Eddystone lighthouse in Cornwall (England) was built with this type of concrete. The lighthouse failed after 126 years due to corrosion of the supporting rocks.

8. Portland Cement (1824)

• Joseph Aspdin from Leeds (England) invented Portland cement in 1824. That’s when he took out a patent.
• This was probably the biggest technological invention of the concrete history, as Portland cement is still the main cement used in today’s concretes
• Portland cement is a mix of limestone (calcium oxide), silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2) and alumina (aluminum oxide, AI2O3).
• Portland cement spread quickly across Europe and North America

9. Reinforced Concrete (1848)

• The 2nd biggest technological invention after Portland cement
• Joseph-Louis Lambot patented his invention made of reinforced concrete.
• He built and tested small water tanks and drinking fountains with mortar, steel bars and chicken coop

10. 3D printed concrete (1990s)

• With the rise of 3D printing technology new concrete types are introduced, because the traditional concrete can’t be used as it clogs the printer’s nozzle
• Most manufacturers of 3D printers developed their own “secret” concrete mixture

11. Reuse of concrete

• There are many research projects currently focusing on how to reuse concrete, as its materials were already produced. This saves a lot of CO2 as the concrete element doesn’t have to be produced any more. CO2 will be emitted however through transportation and possible processing.
• Example of one research project – Business Reuse: I was personally involved in this project with my master thesis. I focused however on structural steel elements, but I gained some knowledge through other students who were in the same group and researched reuse of concrete.
  Here are 2 interesting videos: Business Reuse 1 and Business Reuse 2.

Sources: Nabataea.net, worldscientific.com, Britannica, All3dp

Conclusion

Concrete has evolved a lot over time, especially in the last 200 years.

And to be honest: Could you imagine a world without concrete nowadays?

We wouldn’t be able to build many of our structures without concrete. Think of:

• foundations for high-rise buildings
• waterdams
• tunnels and underground structures
• bridges
• nuclear facitilies

To name just a few.

But now I would like to hear from you! What do you think was the most important concrete invention?

Let us know in the comments.

Concrete History FAQ