49 J. Válek et al. (eds.), Historic Mortars: Characterisation, Assessment and Repair,
RILEM Bookseries 7, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-4635-0_5, © RILEM 2012
Abstract Roman hydraulic maritime concretes of the central Italian coast have
pumiceous volcanic ash, or pulvis Puteolanus, from the Bay of Naples as mortar
pozzolan. Petrographic and mineralogical analyses of cement microstructures in relict
lime, tuff, and pumice clasts suggest that pozzolanic reaction at high pH produced
gel-like calcium-aluminum-silica-hydrate cements. Orthorhombic 11 Å-tobermorite,
with unit cell dimensions a = 5.591(1)Å, b = 3.695(1)Å, c = 22.86(1)Å, developed in
the residual cores of portlandite clasts and in certain pumiceous clasts, as well.
M.D. Jackson (*)
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University
of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
e-mail: mdjackson@berkeley.edu
G. Vola
CTG Italcementi, Bergamo, Italy
e-mail: gabriele.vola@gmail.com
D. Všianský
Institute of Geological Sciences, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
e-mail: daliborv@centrum.cz
J.P. Oleson
Department of Classics, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
e-mail: jpoleson@uvic.ca
B.E. Scheetz
Larson Transportation Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
e-mail: bscheetz@engr.psu.edu
C. Brandon
Pringle Brandon Architects, London, UK
e-mail: Chris-Brandon@pringle-brandon.co.uk
R.L. Hohlfelder
Department of History, University of Colorado, Bouder, CO, USA
e-mail: Robert.Hohlfelder@Colorado.edu
Cement Microstructures and Durability
in Ancient Roman Seawater Concretes
Marie D. Jackson, Gabriele Vola, Dalibor Všianský, John P. Oleson,
Barry E. Scheetz, Christopher Brandon, and Robert L. Hohlfelder