The Domus Aurea and the Roman Architectural Revolution, 2003, 328 p., rel. -

Nero's palace, the Domus Aurea (Golden House), is the most influential known building in the history of Roman architecture. It has been incompletely studied and poorly understood ever since its most important sections were excavated in the 1930s. In this book, Larry Ball provides systematic investigation of the Domus Aurea, including a comprehensive analysis of the masonry, the design, and the abundant ancient literary evidence. Highlighting the revolutionary innovations of the Domus Aurea, Ball also outlines their wide-ranging implications for the later development of Roman concrete architecture. The books contains detailed plans of Domus Aurea: elevations, perspective drawings, schematic diagrams, photos - detailed catalog of the masonry evidence and key design issues, arranged both topographically and chronologically - Three interpretive essays putting the new information from the Domus Aurea to use.