Roman Gardens: A Cultural History

The Romans treated their gardens much as we do: as idyllic retreats from urban living. The Romans developed ornamental horticulture to high standards which we recognise, and often imitate, today.This is the ultimate guide to ancient gardens: it is the first full-length study of Roman gardens to combine literary and archaeological evidence with space theory, making it a truly original approach.In separate sections, this valuable book: Places the Roman garden in social and political context with examinations of Regal, Republican and Imperial Romans' relationship with their gardens Reveals the mechanics of garden design, architecture and decoration Develops and fully explains a spatial theory of Roman gardens with an incorporation of gamma map analysis Reveals what we can know about gardens from Roman literature Brings the Roman garden to life with analysis of how they were used for health and leisure activities Includes a three separate case studies This book will make a valuable addition to the growing scholarship in ancient gardens and will complement courses on Roman history, landscape archaeology and environmental history.von Stackelberg, Katherine is the author of 'Roman Gardens: A Cultural History', published 2009 under ISBN 9780415438230 and ISBN 0415438233.