To appreciate the skill of ancient engineers we need simply look at the works they left behind. The Great Pyramid at Giza, the Pantheon and Coliseum in Rome, and the Acropolis in Athens. All of these monuments were constructed in a time before heavy mechanical aids and yet have stood the test of time. Some, like the Great Pyramid, have left historians slightly baffled as to how they were constructed, whereas others give real insight into the civilisations that constructed them. The ceiling of the Pantheon, for example, shows Rome’s mastery of concrete and moulds to develop its complex and beautiful architecture.
