The ruins of ancient civilizations prove the existence of cultures thousands of years gone which nonetheless rival our own in many aspects. Take the Roman Colosseum, as an example. It was but one of many such arenas which stood across the Roman Empire, in varying sizes depending on the local population. As with today, the great stars of the arena, the gladiators, wrestlers, charioteers, and other performers became stars in the hinterlands, as it were, before performing before the Emperor in Rome or Caesarea. Engineers and architects built the arenas, the great cities, and the roads which connected them.
Ancient engineers harnessed sources of motive power to create tools to shape metals and stone, reroute water, and alter the landscape. When the ancient Greeks first encountered the Great Pyramids in Egypt the monuments were already thousands of years old, as were the techniques employed to build them. The Greeks adopted the Egyptian’s techniques, improving on them, and later the Romans advanced the technology of the Greeks. Engineers designed and built public spaces, roads, temples, weapons, and all the sinews of their civilizations. Here are ten ancient engineering methods and accomplishments.
This is an encore of one of our previous lists, as presented by our YouTube host, Simon Whistler. Read the full list!