Wonder why those ruins are still standing after a millenium? Maybe a [strike]wizard[/strike] Roman built it (https://www.nature.com/news/seawater-is-the-secret-to-long-lasting-roman-concrete-1.22231).
One of the more interesting elective courses I took in college was on ancient engineering, so I eat shit like this up with a spoon. If you like to be able to explain the 'how' of things in your game-world, a little bit of engineering and chemistry knowledge goes a long way - in the case of engineering, the devices used to build massive structures can be as interesting as the structures themselves, and creative players will often put them to good use.
Read about that on the BBC web site yesterday. Good stuff.
Now that is pretty cool. I can think of a lot places to use this. Thanks!
Roman concrete was certainly astounding. It's amazing how some structures built at the same time can vanish without a trace while others endure.
Great read, thanks BV.
Okay... that was completely awesome.