THE ANCIENT KAMIRIAN WATER STORAGE TANK - A PROOF OF CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY AND DURABILITY FOR 3 MILLENNIUMS

This paper presents the research work conducted on a concrete specimen cut from a manmade underground hydraulic structure with respect to a well-preserved water storage tank which was discovered from the archae ological excavations ill the area of the ancient city of Kamiros. Duri ng Antiquity, this city was the largest of the three most important ci ties of the Greek island of Rhodes, where for millenniums civilisation flourished in all its expressions and forms. The research concerns ph ysical, chemical and mechanical tests carried out on the concrete samp le. The results derived show this concrete's good durability despite t he dissolving effect of rainwater and of the humic acid's activity for roughly the past three millenniums. Also, the technological aspects o f this concrete reveal that the ancient Greeks had an excellent knowle dge of concrete technology three millenniums ago.