Experimental archaeology update The Great Wall of MIT

When it comes to scientific progress, sometimes you have to look back in order to move forward.

Parts of the Great Wall of China, still standing after more than 2,000 years, were built using a construction technique called rammed earth.

Now a group of architecture students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have imitated the technique in an experiment aiming to confirm the usability of the ancient building method in the modern world.

Led by graduate student Joe Dahmen, the MIT team began work in September, using twelve tons of local Boston blue clay mixed with two parts sand and gravel. Their blend was packed, by hand and with the help of a pneumatic compactor, into a wooden shell that was removed once each section was complete and dry.