Climate change is leading to unprecedented weather conditions, temperature changes, and sea level rises across the globe. Companies, consumers, and governments are shifting and adjusting their operations, outlooks, and models to decrease emissions and increase sustainability, eco-friendly initiatives, and infrastructure.
This worldwide push has brought forth an influx of clean energy startups, technologies, and projects working to help the planet and mitigate the climate crisis. While many of these innovations harness new technologies ranging from electric batteries to generative artificial intelligence, there are also a few prime examples of people turning toward the past to create a better future.
So, without further ado, here are two ways these ancient technologies are returning to modernity for the betterment of the planet.
Self-Repairing Ancient Roman Concrete
Some could argue that modern bridges, roads, and other infrastructure are typically built to last only a few decades at most. For those who disagree, the evidence can be found simply by looking at the fact that highways and the like are constantly under repair (without even mentioning potholes). The same may not be said for ancient Roman concrete.
A study from researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, plus labs based in Italy and Switzerland, has found that the white fragments of lime in 2,000-year-old concrete previously thought to be the result of sloppy craftsmanship actually have self-healing properties.
After the stunning revelation, the researchers created their own version of the ancient lime clast concrete and compared them to modern techniques.
The results? The old method of concrete repaired itself in less than two weeks; the modern sample remained cracked.
Photo Courtesy djedj
There’s obviously still a lot of development to be done before this technology can be scaled and implemented for widespread use. However, considering that according to Nature, cement is responsible for nearly 8% of the globe’s carbon emissions, and given Roman concrete’s increased durability and lower manufacturing emissions, there’s huge potential for the technique.
Sheep Rescue Pompeii Ruins
If you’re thinking to yourself that using sheep to save part of the ruins of Pompeii is not an “ancient technology,” you’d be right — technically, it’s a primitive one. Arguments around categories aside, the benefits the furry flock of 150 sheep bring to the ruins are much less up for debate.
Archaeologists have only unearthed approximately two-thirds of the ancient Roman city’s site since excavations started more than 200 years ago. Despite being preserved by meters of ash and debris since Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, Pompeii’s managers have had trouble preventing overgrowth from damaging yet-to-be-unearthed areas of the site. And that’s where the four-legged flock comes in.
The sheep have been sent to Regio V, in the northern part of the ruins, to roam the area and simply do what they do best: eat plants and grass.
As simple as it sounds, the method is carbon-free, doesn’t harm Pompeii’s infrastructure or surrounding ecosystem, and, most importantly, prevents overgrowth and erosion.
“We try to explain that this is actually a sustainable project, and it helps the ruins,” Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, told Reuters. “It’s also something which really gives an idea of how Pompeii was in the time when it was rediscovered. It was woods, vineyards, sheep, and it was this kind of rural environment, and in the midst of that, you had Pompeii.”
Photo Courtesy falco
The relationship between old and new at Pompeii, in particular, goes both ways. In 2022, Zuchtriegel led an initiative that implemented modern technologies like satellites and infrared sensors around the ancient ruins. The process is still ongoing, but these advanced devices and systems allow a greater ability to monitor the environment for signs of decay, deterioration, and damage.
With climate change on the rise, it’s more important than ever for the site and its managers to be able to assess the health of the ruins and its wildlife in real-time. These technological advancements do just that.
There’s a saying that has been attributed to Chaucer that goes: “There’s nothing new under the sun.” Reducing carbon emissions with Roman self-healing concrete and preventing overgrowth in ruins with sheep hundreds of years after the practices came about definitely fits the bill. On the other hand, it’s easy to imagine Chaucer at a loss for words, gazing, awestruck, at a satellite.
