http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/1024606

Roman builders : a study in architectural process

"How were the architectural ideas behind great Roman building projects carried out in practice? Roman Builders is the first general-interest book to address this question. Using the Baths of Caracalla, the Pantheon, the Colosseum, and the great temples at Baalbek as physical documents for their own building histories, this book traces the thought processes and logistical considerations - the risks, reversals, compromises, and refinements - that led to ultimate success. Each major phase of the building process is considered: design, groundwork, support structures, complex armatures (such as the superstructures of amphitheatres), vaults, and decorations. New hypotheses are advanced on the raising of monolithic columns, the construction sequence of the Colosseum, and the vaulting of the Pantheon. The illustrations include archival and original photographs, as well as numerous explanatory drawings."--Jacket.

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