The spread of Hellenistic column systems, the development of arch and vault construction, the perfection of mass masonry, and the formation and monumentalization of new spatial forms are essential impulses that the Roman architecture passed on to the development of European architecture. Little attention has been paid so far to the fact that the exterior construction underwent significant transformations, albeit only in late antiquity, making it fundamentally important for Romanesque architecture, as well as for aspects of revolutionary architecture and the architecture of the early 19th century. The work demonstrates that in the early 4th century, the components of architectural creation that had developed separately in Roman architecture—spatial design and forms of exterior construction—were brought into alignment. The study examines the position of various monument groups within the development of the genre. It raises questions about the motives and systems of organization of late antique exterior construction and investigates its essential innovations and design principles. Monographic references to the most important buildings provide the corresponding evidence.