This chapter describes raised platforms, burial mounds, and topographic conformation of authority ranking in which elites’ dwellings are at higher elevations. Emperors palaces were often surrounded by vast private plazas, massive walls with high and strong gateways, and often stairs that have to be climbed to reach the palace. These are examples of iconic conformations of authority ranking using elevation, mass, and surface area. In cartography, the status of nations is conformed by their relative sizes and their position on the vertical axis of a map. For thousands of years, rulers have built massive, imposing monuments, including earthen mounds, pyramids, and huge, tall stone monoliths. The chapter concludes by explaining why these conformations of authority ranking cannot be fully explained by theories of costly signals, not by theories of conspicuous consumption of energy.

This chapter examines private architecture in Late Antiquity, focusing on the evolution of domestic structures and their role in social, political and religious life. It explores various building types, including domus, villas, insulae, palatia, praetoria and episcopia. The chapter argues that private architecture during this period was highly diverse, reflecting both continuity and transformation. While wealthy residences – whether aristocratic homes, episcopal residences or governor’s palaces – shared similar monumental features such as triclinia, courtyards, baths, and reception halls, often blurring the distinction between private and official spaces, imperial palaces frequently evolved from earlier residential buildings. At the same time, Christian bishops adapted aristocratic architectural models for their own use. Overall, archaeological evidence suggests that private architecture played a crucial role in expressing social status and power, with the design and decoration of homes reinforcing elite identity. At the same time, this study highlights how the economic and political shifts of Late Antiquity shaped domestic architecture, leading to both the persistence of elite housing and the gradual decline of multi-family insulae.