Terrazzo-like floors are documented in Pre-Pottery Neolithic buildings at Karahan Tepe, Turkey; one report describes a floor about 15 cm thick. The video argues that builders calcined limestone at roughly 850°C, slaked it into lime binder and produced waterproof floors; the exact temperature and waterproofing are not established by the excavation descriptions. Lime mortars long predate Rome, so Roman concrete was not the first use of cement-like binders. 🏗️🔬
Karah Tepe has Pre-Pottery Neolithic terrazzo-like floors
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Key facts
- Terrazzo and terrazzo-like floors are documented in Pre-Pottery Neolithic buildings at Karahan Tepe, Turkey; one excavation report describes a floor about 15 cm thick.
- The video argues that builders calcined limestone at roughly 850°C to make a lime binder and used it for waterproof floors. The excavation summaries do not establish the exact firing temperature or waterproofing.
- Heating limestone produces quicklime, which is then slaked for use as lime mortar; describing the material simply as Roman-style cement is misleading.
- Lime mortars and mineral binders long predate Rome. Roman concrete was a later, distinct development, so the technique was not previously credited to Romans only.
Sources
megalithomania.co.uk
Linked in video description
Karahantepe: The Prehistoric Site Rewriting Human Historykarahan-tepe.com
The floor was meticulously leveled from the natural limestone, producing a smooth, even surface. The domestic buildings were semi-subterranean, ...
Unifinished T-shaped pillar at Karahan Tepe.researchgate.net
In the interior of the structure, benches and a 15 cm thick terrazzo floor were uncovered. For the floors, terrazzo and bedrock have been documented. The road ...
Karahan Tepe: Even Older Than Göbekli Tepe?sailingstonetravel.com
As seen at Göbekli Tepe, the T-Builders were capable of smoothing down natural bedrock as well as making artificial terrazzo floors with plaster ...
Karahantepetastepeler.org
The floors of the buildings are covered with terrazzo or large stone slabs that are overlapped.
What Is Karahan Tepe?karahantepe.net
The most striking is a pillared hall containing rows of upright stone columns — several carved in a stylised phallic form — rising from the rock floor.
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