Cements are finely ground powders that, when mixed with water, set to a hard mass. The cement used by the Egyptians was calcined gypsum, and both the Greeks and Romans used a cement of calcined limestone. Roman concrete (a mixture of cement, sand, and some other fine aggregate) was made of broken brick embedded in a pozzolanic lime mortar. This mortar consisted of lime putty mixed with brick dust or volcanic ash. Hardening was produced by a prolonged chemical reaction between these components in the presence of moisture. With the decline of the Roman empire, concrete fell into disuse.

The first step toward its reintroduction was in 1756, when English engineer John Smeaton (1724–1792) found that when lime containing a certain amount of clay was burned, it would set under water. This cement resembled what had been made by the Romans. Further investigations by James Parker in the same decade led to the commercial production of natural hydraulic cement. In 1824, Englishman Joseph Aspdin (1799–1855) obtained a patent for what he called “portland cement,” a material produced from a synthetic mixture of limestone and clay. He called it “portland” because it resembled a building stone that was quarried on the Isle of Portland off the coast of Dorset. The manufacture of this cement spread rapidly to Europe and the United States by 1870. Today, concrete is often reinforced or prestressed, increasing its load-bearing capabilities.