Lintel

A lintel is a structural horizontal block that spans the space or opening between two vertical supports. It can be a load-bearing building component, a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. It is often found over portals, doors, windows, and fireplaces.

Structural uses

In worldwide architecture of different eras and many cultures, a lintel has been an element of post and lintel construction. Many different building materials have been used for lintels.

In classical western construction methods, defining lintel by its Merriam-Webster definition, a lintel is a load-bearing member and is placed over an entranceway. In ancient Western classical architecture, the lintel, called an architrave, is a structural element that is usually rested on stone pillars or stacked stone columns, over a portal or entranceway. An example from the Mycenaean Greece cultural period (c. 1600 BCE – c. 1100 BCE) is the Treasury of Atreus in Mycenae, Greece. It weighs 120 tons, with approximate dimensions 8.3 × 5.2 × 1.2 m, one of the largest in the world.