the scraps and come to fairly detailed conclusions. One major point that has been looked at closely but has not been completely decided upon is the original number of stories the palace contained. There are no indications of a second story beyond the two narrow staircases back in the upper north service area of the wing. Because of the building code at the time and of how the vaults preclude throughout the supposition that there were once wooden stairs, it is highly unlikely that a grand staircase was constructed that does not remain today. Although the Romans were not inclined to building massive interior staircases, the complete lack of convenient access argues against a congruent upper level. Also, the rooms along the south facade and surrounding the five-sided courtyard and the octagonal chamber were considered the more important rooms and decorated richly with gilded and painted stucco, marble paneling, and perhaps even mosaic. If these rooms were in the mere basement of the palace, they would have been ornamented in the same fashion as the service rooms and corridors to the north. Not only that, but a full upper story would have cut down drastically on the amount of sunlight reaching the five-sided court and octagonal chamber and its surrounding rooms. It is generally assumed that the narrow staircases in the rear led to more service rooms or summer quarters, but this is not for certain and there is a possibility that at one point a massive staircase was in fact built, leading to a grand upper level. Another assumption that has been made about the Esquiline wing has to do with the original middle feature of the palace. Naturally people have postulated that Neros architect, Severus, intended the five-sided court to serve as the center point of the wing, but it is possible that the octagonal chamber was actually intended to be the original north-south axis. Some indications of this theory are seen in the orientation and lo...
