Examining the methods and techniques that enabled builders to construct some of the most imposing monuments of ancient Rome, Lynne Lancaster focuses on structurally innovative vaulting and the factors that influenced its advancement, as well as a range of related practices and various techniques of buttressing. Providing the geological background of the local building stones, Lancaster applies mineralogical analysis to suggest trading patterns and land use. She also examines construction techniques in relation to the social, economic, and political contexts of Rome.