Researchers have discovered new evidence that Neolithic people in the Judean Mountains achieved an engineering breakthrough 8000 years before the ancient Romans first used it.
The precocious ancient technology, now believed to have been invented nearly 10,000 years ago based on discoveries at the Motza archaeological site near the western edge of Jerusalem, involved burning local limestone and dolomite to create a form of plaster far stronger than other known varieties of the period, which mostly consisted of calcite.
Now, according to new research published in The Journal of Archaeological Science, long before the use of pottery, the ancient Neolithic inhabitants at Motza had discovered pyrogenic dolomite plaster and were using this surprisingly sophisticated engineering capability to craft plaster floors and other fixtures.
Pyrogenic Dolomite Plaster 8000 Years Before Rome
A primary ingredient of plaster is calcite, a whitish mineral composed of calcium carbonate derived from limestone.
However, during the Neolithic Period near modern-day Motza, early engineers had apparently already begun using not only limestone to make the plaster for their flooring but also dolomite found in the region. This is significant because the resulting pyrogenic dolomite plaster would inherit the properties of the dolomite stone, making it much harder and more water-resistant.
The earliest known written source that references such processes appears in the writings of the Roman architect and military engineer Vitruvius, who in the 1st century BC wrote of two rock types known for their use in making lime: a light-colored stone (limestone) and another hard stone, which most scholars believe to have been dolomite.
Given this reference, it was long believed that Roman engineers were the earliest to use dolomitic lime in such a manner, which is no simple task and demands a level of expertise at virtually every stage of its production that would have seemed inconceivable for ancient Neolithic builders.
That is, until now.
A Lost Technology Reemerges
Even in modern examples of dolomitic lime, as well as historical examples known to archaeologists, lime possessing magnesium generally isn’t recombined with the calcite-based lime to form dolomite—instead, known examples reveal that several different minerals rich in magnesium are formed, along with a range of other amorphous secondary compounds.
According to the recent study’s authors, “Surprisingly, the dolomitic plasters at Motza contain mainly dolomite and calcite, yet the properties of the dolomite support its identification as pyrogenic dolomite that re-formed after decarbonization in the plaster-making process.”
To determine whether the examples from Motza were indeed pyrogenic dolomite, the researchers conducted analytical tests on plaster kiln remains and floors at archaeological sites in the region. This, combined with studies of experimental recreations that mimic the suspected engineering of ancient the region’s Neolithic craftsmen and modern technologies such as scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy, led to an astounding discovery.
“The results suggest a technology lost to history that allowed a complete dolomite-lime cycle, similar to the known calcite-lime cycle,” the study’s authors report.
A New Understanding of Neolithic Engineering
According to the study’s authors, the ancient inhabitants of pre-pottery Neolithic Motza followed a traditional method for making plaster, though with one major difference: they adopted standard recipes that normally use lime or gypsum, and instead began using local materials available to them at the time.
Whether by accident or because of trial and error, Motza’s ancient residents managed to perfect the use of dolomite under such conditions “despite technical difficulties.”
As far as how this was specifically achieved, the researchers behind the new study suggest that “They may have successfully made dolomitic plaster where dolomite is fully recrystallized along with the calcite,” which they add is “something that to our knowledge has not been observed anywhere else.”
The recent study by Yonah Maor, Dmitry Yegorov, et al, titled “Neolithic plaster floors at Motza: Earliest case of burning dolomite for plaster,” appeared in the June 2026 issue of The Journal of Archaeological Science.
Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.
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