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<blockquote data-quote="Zappo" data-source="post: 535841" data-attributes="member: 633">The pyramids are made in stone, and the supporting structures of the colosseum are in tough limestone as well (besides, remember that for any ancient building standing, there are a dozen which crumbled - even discounting those which were dismantled for construction materials). Stone does last thousands of years. For the pyramids, the shape helps too (a pyramid is about the most stable building possible; a quake which would raze another building of the same age made with the same materials would hardly affect a pyramid). Now, different types of concrete have very different properties, but there are many modern buildings which show signs of erosion as early as 50 years after construction.&nbsp; The success of concrete is because it's cheap, not because it's tough. I'm sure that concrete has improved a lot in recent times, but I doubt its durability is anywhere close to stone. In any case, 10000 years aren't 3000; I am fairly sure that nothing except large monuments built to last forever or items in very sheltered locations would still be recognizable.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Zappo, post: 535841, member: 633"] The pyramids are made in stone, and the supporting structures of the colosseum are in tough limestone as well (besides, remember that for any ancient building standing, there are a dozen which crumbled - even discounting those which were dismantled for construction materials). Stone does last thousands of years. For the pyramids, the shape helps too (a pyramid is about the most stable building possible; a quake which would raze another building of the same age made with the same materials would hardly affect a pyramid). Now, different types of concrete have [i]very[/i] different properties, but there are many modern buildings which show signs of erosion as early as 50 years after construction. The success of concrete is because it's cheap, not because it's tough. I'm sure that concrete has improved a lot in recent times, but I doubt its durability is anywhere close to stone. In any case, 10000 years aren't 3000; I am fairly sure that nothing except large monuments built to last forever or items in very sheltered locations would still be recognizable. [/QUOTE]

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