How the Pantheon, which was built over 2000 years ago, is still standing when buildings made 150 years ago are about to crumble.

Question

Edit- After reading most of the comments the general consensus is listed below:

1. The unique composite matrix of the concrete used gives it a self-healing property. When cracks form in the concrete, it will naturally seal them.
2. The Pantheon was a very significant structure which led to meticulous maintenance and restorations
3. The Romans didn’t have modern engineering. So they didn’t know exactly how strong they’d have to build the Pantheon to make it last. Their solution was to overbuild the hell out of it.
4. Survivorship bias. There were thousands of buildings constructed by the Romans but very few remain which are the ones we marvel at.

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In: 564

Answer 1

As one of my old engineering professors liked to say—“Anyone can design a bridge that doesn’t fall down. It takes an engineer to build a bridge that BARELY doesn’t fall down.”

The Greeks and Romans over-engineered. They built buildings that lasted 2,000 years longer than the clientele they were supposed to serve.

We could build structures that last that long today, with ease. We choose not to spend exorbitant money and time on creating something that might last 1000% longer than the desired design life.