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Worldbuilding

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    $\begingroup$ "modern industry is still trying to replicate it." Don't we already know how Romans mixed their concrete? I heard that the reason our concrete is still inferior is because Roman concrete is much more expensive than modern concrete. I could be wrong, though. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 2, 2016 at 9:48
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    $\begingroup$ @Nolonar You’re completely right. Lost technologies are hokum: Whenever you hear “modern science/engineering/… is still trying to replicate feat X of ancient civilisation”, the correct instinct is scepticism. The Roman concrete is no exception. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 2, 2016 at 11:40
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    $\begingroup$ Depending on bacteria for 10,000 years of consistent, reliable performance without maintenance is probably not wise. Even if you could get them to return to spore form when they're not needed, over 10,000 years they'll still spend enough time active, metabolizing, and reproducing to require additional resources (food, etc.), removal of undesirable waste products, and reproduction/population growth management (bacteria generations can be on the order of 30 minutes or so). Even an ideal, engineered organism or nanomachine would have these problems over this many years. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 2, 2016 at 13:46
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    $\begingroup$ @ddriver the Italian peninsula is not noted for its seismic stability - and yet concrete buildings still stand. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 2, 2016 at 18:20
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    $\begingroup$ The big deal about roman cement was that it was hydraulic cement meaning it would cure under water and remain water proof. This allowed the romans to build things like road beds, bridge fooding and via ducts that did not degrade in water. Modern concrete structures that are low, stable and large will last hundreds if not thousands of years. The cement inside the Hoover Dam has still not cured completely and the dam itself will likely last up to 200,000 years. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 3, 2016 at 8:18