newtype_alpha wrote:
Ancient Rome wouldn't be all that different from a modern superpower if they had mastered electricity or figured out how to make concrete, and they missed out on those innovations only for lack of development time.
|
Actually, the Romans invented concrete - they even built harbours and large domes out of it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_concrete
The Parthians (contemporaries of the Romans) may also have known about DC electricity, viz. the Baghdad battery, which might have been used to electroplate gold and silver:
http://riversfromeden.wordpress.com/...ancient-world/
Perhaps this technology was the origin of Alchemy if the knowledge became corrupted through secrecy and mysticism?
Human ingenuity 2, ancient aliens 0.