post-and-lintel
Columns supporting crossbeam
Post-and-lintel is the oldest and simplest structural system in architecture: two vertical supports (posts) holding up a horizontal beam (lintel).
Stone temples, wooden frames, and doorways all use this principle.
The Greeks perfected post-and-lintel construction in their columned temples.
The system works by transferring weight straight down through the posts, unlike arches, which redirect force outward.
Vertical structural element
- beamStructural support member
- entablatureBeam structure on columns
- architraveLowest entablature element
- templeSacred worship structure
portico · colonnade · capital · shaft · base · frieze · corbel · dolmen
At right angles groundward
- horizontalParallel to the horizon
- load-bearingSustaining structural mass
- spanDistance between endpoints
- weightMeasure of heaviness
compression · support · uprights · crossbeam · threshold · doorframe · masonry · timber-frame
Very old indeed
- EgyptianRelating to the pharaohs' land
- GreekOf Athenian origin
- MesopotamianOf the two-rivers land
- megalithicOf giant stone construction
Neolithic · Parthenon · Karnak · Luxor · Persepolis · Mycenaean · prehistoric · classical
Capable of elongation
- compressiveTending to squeeze inward
- stressPressure, mental or vocal
- deadweightInert, unproductive mass
- shearLateral sliding force
column
Vertical structural element
- beamStructural support member
- entablatureBeam structure on columns
- architraveLowest entablature element
temple · portico · colonnade · capital · shaft · base · frieze · corbel · dolmen · torii
vertical
At right angles groundward
- horizontalParallel to the horizon
- load-bearingSustaining structural mass
- spanDistance between endpoints
weight · compression · support · uprights · crossbeam · threshold · doorframe · masonry · timber-frame · stone
ancient
Very old indeed
- EgyptianRelating to the pharaohs' land
- GreekOf Athenian origin
- MesopotamianOf the two-rivers land
megalithic · Neolithic · Parthenon · Karnak · Luxor · Persepolis · Mycenaean · prehistoric · classical · antiquity
tensile
Capable of elongation
- compressiveTending to squeeze inward
- stressPressure, mental or vocal
- deadweightInert, unproductive mass
- post-and-lintelbeam, architrave, entablature, header, crossbeam
post-and-lintelarch
Curved spanning structure
vault · dome · barrel vault · flying buttress · cantilever
post, lintel, posts, lintels, posted, posting, poster, postage, postal