> There are plenty of old buildings (such as Hōryū-ji) that don’t use any kind of magical construction techniques but have stuck around because of their value t

> There are plenty of old buildings (such as Hōryū-ji) that don’t use any kind of magical construction techniques but have stuck around because of their value to the surrounding society and active efforts at preservation and/or repurposing. This is true, but rather misleading. Hōryū-ji burned down and is probably around 80-90% new material. The Roman concrete structures on the other hand survived this long with their original construction materials.