system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How did Roman technology get lost and how did it stay lost for so long?
gpt
It’s a bit of a false history that Roman technology was collectively lost for centuries.

Facing internal divisions and external pressure, the Roman Empire split in half in the 4th century and the western half collapsed soon after.  The Eastern half survived for another 1000 years before falling to the Ottomans in the 1400s.

The collapse of the western half split the empire into innumerable feudal states with local leaders.  This badly disrupted trade routes and severely decreased the availability of money, materials, and manpower to complete large infrastructure projects.

Technology and architecture continued to advance, but there were few places in the west capable of financing major architectural projects.