The concept of engineering already existed in the early times as mankind developed

the simple machines such as the pulley, lever, etc. the concepts and principles used on these
inventions were the modern definitions used on defining engineering, to utilize the basic
mechanisms and scientific principles to develop/ invent useful tools and objects. As you learn
engineering it also bears the responsibility to learn the great body of knowledge that is
associated with it. It also involves professional practice that requires an extensive training to
apply the knowledge that comes along with it. Being an Engineer also making things possible
through the principles used on Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, and their understandings on
Material Science, Solid and Fluid Mechanics, Transfer and Rate Processes, and System
Analysis. Engineers solves the problems that arise at the heat of the moment, the solutions
they produce are required to satisfy the conflicting requirement like having the most
efficiency, safety, and improved performance with the least budget on hand, they must find
the optimum result while considering the factors that may affect the outcome of the result.
Engineers employ 2 types of natural resources: materials and energy, materials are useful due
to their respective properties some of this properties are durability, lightness, strength, ease
of fabrication, etc., meanwhile energy is also useful to an extent that it is needed to process
the materials that will be used on making an infrastructure or tool some of this important
energy are fossil fuel, wind, sunlight, moving water, etc. the resources are limited that the
engineers must consider the development of new resources as well as efficient utilization of
existing ones.
The first engineer known by name and achievement in account is Imhotep, the
constructor of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, Egypt on the year 2550 BC. Imhotep’s
successors are the following: Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, carried the progress
of civil engineering to unimaginable heights on the empirical methods with the help of
arithmetic, geometry, and least amount of physical science. Some of the structures that used
these principles endured the harsh elements even time itself like the famous Colosseum in
Rome, The Pharos of Alexandria, Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem, The Persian and Roman
Roadway system, The Pont du Gard aqueduct in France, and many other large structures just
to testify the skills, imagination, and daringness they have.
The construction of medieval European engineers developed a technique, in the form
of the Gothic arch and flying buttress, to a height unknown to Romans. In Asia, engineering
had a separate yet very similar in terms of development, with more sophisticated techniques
in construction, hydraulics, and metallurgy. Aiding the development of advance civilizations
such as the Mongol Empire, whose large, aesthetically beautiful cities impressed Marco Polo
in the 13th Century.
Engineering have 4 major branches which are the following: Civil engineering,
Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Chemical engineering. The researcher
will be focusing on one of the following which is the branch of Civil Engineering.
The History of Civil Engineering in terms of existence.
Civil engineering, the profession of designing and constructing structural works for
the benefit of the general public. The term was first used on the early 18th century to
distinguish the newly recognized profession from the military engineering, until it became a
distinguished branch of engineering. In the ancient and medieval time, the concept of civil
engineering was evident on the infrastructural works such as the Roman public baths, roads,
bridges, and aqueducts; the Flemish canals; the Dutch sea defenses; the French Gothic
cathedrals; and many more other structures reveals the inventive genius and persistent
experimentation.
It is difficult to determine the history of the existence and beginning of the concept of
civil engineering, however, the history of civil engineering is mirror image of the history of
mankind on this earth. The proof of this are: Man using cave shelters to protect themselves on
the harsh elements of nature, using tree trunks to cross rivers, which are demonstrations of
ancient age civil engineering.
Civil engineering has been an aspect of life since the beginning of mankind’s
existence. The earliest practice of this concept may have commenced on the year 4000 to
2000 B.C. in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq), when humans started to
abandon their nomadic lifestyle, therefore, causing the need for comfort of shelter. During
this time, transportation became increasingly valuable leading to the invention of the wheel
and sailing. The construction of Pyramids in Egypt in the year 2700-2500 B.C. might be
considered as one of the first instances of large structure constructions in history.
Around the year 2550 BC, the first documented civil engineer built the famous
Stepped Pyramid for King Djoser that is located at Saqqara Necropolis. Only with the use of
simple tools and mathematics, he created a monument that still stands up to this date. His
greatest contribution towards the innovation of civil engineering was his discovery of the art
of building using shaped stones. His successors carried engineering itself into marvelous
heights using their skills and imagination.
The one of the earliest historic civil engineering constructions include the Qanat water
management system, the Parthenon by Iktinos in Ancient Greece on the year 447-438 B.C.,
The Apian Way by the Roman engineers in the year 312 B.C., The Great Wall of China by
General Meng T’ien under orders from China’s Emperor Shih Huang Ti in the year 220 B.C
and the stupas constructed in Ancient Sri Lanka like the Jetavanaramaya and the extensive
irrigation works in Anuradhapura. The Romans constructed civil structures throughout the
areas of the empire, including aqueducts, insulae, harbors, bridges, dams and roads.