Abstract：Compressive，tensile and bending strength tests were conducted on bamboo specimens in laboratory to understand the working mechanism of bamboo-steel cable composite(BSCC) anchor，a newly invented anchor for reinforcing earthen archaeological sites. Test results show that the longitudinal compressive strength of the 3 year-old bamboo is up to 119 MPa，which is higher than that of 5 year-old one. With respect to the height positions of the same bamboo，the longitudinal strength is almost the same for the specimens from the middle and bottom parts，but less than that from the top part. The relationship between compressive direction and arrangement of bamboo fiber is highly responsible for the variation of compressive strength of bamboo，namely，the longitudinal，tangential and radial strengths are 98，37 and 65 MPa respectively. The compressive，tensile and bending strengths of bamboo specimens are found to decrease gradually with the increase of moisture content except that the compressive strength becomes stable when the moisture content is greater than a constant. Compressive tests on bamboo pipes in two different diameter-to-height ratios，1∶1 and 1∶2，and tensile tests on bamboo splints，illustrate that the existence of bamboo knots results to a little decrease in bamboo pipe and splint strengths.
