Transsylvania Nostra Journal

From its production to its use, Roman cement has established its own European network. Discovered in Britain, in less than 50 years it becomes the continental construction material, determining the growth of a prosperous industry, in continuous and harsh competition. It takes an active part in the architectural stylistics of the epoch: ornaments, plastering, and masonry. It reconfigures landscapes: furnaces, ovens, warehouses, manufactories and mills, opencast or underground mines, but also railway bedplates, lighthouses, silos. It is involved in the process of rendering the cities more salubrious, like underground infrastructure networks, or equipping the city area with canal systems. It is a solution for stone restoration, more efficient and less invasive than the very restoration with stone. It is the solution of the epoch for marine construction and engineering: harbours, lighthouses, locks. It is a component of the experiments prior to the establishment of reinforced concrete in the construction and engineering activity.
Keywords: Roman cement, “cement” history, constructions