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A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals,
door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security b ...
s, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of windows, the bottom span is instead referred to as a
sill Sill may refer to: * Sill (dock), a weir at the low water mark retaining water within a dock * Sill (geology), a subhorizontal sheet intrusion of molten or solidified magma * Sill (geostatistics) * Sill (river), a river in Austria * Sill plate, a ...
, but, unlike a lintel, does not serve to bear a load to ensure the integrity of the wall. Modern day lintels are made using prestressed concrete and are also referred to as beams in beam and block slabs or ribs in rib and block slabs. These prestressed concrete lintels and blocks are components that are packed together and propped to form a suspended floor concrete slab.


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 architecture and construction methods, by ''
Merriam-Webster Merriam-Webster, Inc. is an American company that publishes reference books and is especially known for its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States. In 1831, George and Charles Merriam founded the company as ...
'' definition, a lintel is a load-bearing member and is placed over an entranceway. Called an
architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can ...
, the lintel 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 Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in ...
cultural period (c. 1600 – 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. A lintel may support the chimney above a fireplace, or span the distance of a path or road, forming a stone lintel bridge.


Ornamental uses

The use of the lintel form as a decorative building element over portals, with no structural function, has been employed in the architectural traditions and styles of most cultures over the centuries. Examples of the ornamental use of lintels are in the
hypostyle In architecture, a hypostyle () hall has a roof which is supported by columns. Etymology The term ''hypostyle'' comes from the ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος ''hypóstȳlos'' meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό ''hypó'' means below or un ...
halls and slab stelas in ancient Egypt and the Indian rock-cut architecture of Buddhist temples in caves. Preceding prehistoric and subsequent Indian Buddhist temples were wooden buildings with structural load-bearing wood lintels across openings. The rock-cut excavated cave temples were more durable, and the non-load-bearing carved stone lintels allowed creative ornamental uses of classical Buddhist elements. Highly skilled artisans were able to simulate the look of wood, imitating the nuances of a wooden structure and the wood grain in excavating cave temples from monolithic rock. In freestanding Indian building examples, the Hoysala architecture tradition between the 11th and 14th centuries produced many elaborately carved non-structural stone lintels in the Southern Deccan Plateau region of southern India. The
Hoysala Empire The Hoysala Empire was a Kannada people, Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, India, Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially loca ...
era was an important period in the development of art and architecture in the South Indian Kannadiga culture. It is remembered today primarily for its Hindu temples' ''
mandapa A mandapa or mantapa () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture. Mandapas are described as "open" or "closed" depending on whether they have walls. In temples, ...
'', lintels, and other architectural elements, such as at the Chennakesava Temple. The Maya civilization in
the Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
was known for its sophisticated art and monumental architecture. The Mayan city of
Yaxchilan Yaxchilan () is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states along the course of the Usumacinta River, with Piedra ...
, on the Usumacinta River in present-day southern Mexico, specialized in the stone carving of ornamental lintel elements within structural stone lintels. The earliest carved lintels were created in 723 CE. At the Yaxchilan archaeological site there are fifty-eight lintels with decorative pieces spanning the doorways of major structures. Among the finest Mayan carving to be excavated are three temple door lintels that feature narrative scenes of a queen celebrating the king's anointing by a god.


Radiation protection

Lintels may also be used to reduce scattered radiation in medical applications. For example, Medical linacs operating at high energies will produce activated neutrons which will be scattered outside the treatment bunker maze with a dose rate that depends on the maze cross section. Lintels may be visible or recessed in the roof of the facility, and reduce dose rate in publicly accessible areas by reducing the maze cross section.


Types


Decoration

* Atalburu – Basque decorative lintel * Marriage stone – decorative (can be structural) lintel


Structure

*
Architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can ...
– structural lintel or beam resting on columns-pillars *
Dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...
– prehistoric megalithic tombs with structural stone lintels * Dougong – traditional Chinese structural element * I-beam – steel lintels and beams * Post and lintel


Gallery

Image:Treasure_of_Atreus.jpg, Structural lintel over entrance, Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae, Greece File:20090727 mykines33.jpg, The lintel stone at the Treasury of Atreus (external view) File:Interior of theTreasury of Atreus.jpg, The lintel stone at the Treasury of Atreus (internal view) Image:Phimai Lintel.jpg, Structural lintel over the entry to main Buddhist shrine,
Phimai historical park The Phimai Historical Park ( km, ប្រាសាទពិមាយ, , th, ปราสาทหินพิมาย, ) is one of the largest Hindu Khmer temples in Thailand. It is located in the town of Phimai, Nakhon Ratchasima province. I ...
, Thailand Image:Silwan-inscr.jpg, Shebna Inscription on a lintel of a tomb cave near Jerusalem, 8th/7th century BCE Image:Atalburu_Mendiburua.jpg, Structural lintel with a lauburu and founders' names, above traditional Basque houses in Lower Navarre, Spain Image:Yaxchilan lintel 15 a.jpg, Non-structural Mayan ornamental lintel stone, from the
Yaxchilan Yaxchilan () is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states along the course of the Usumacinta River, with Piedra ...
city site in Chiapas, southern Mexico. (Late Classic period, 600-900 CE). Image:Pedlintelsrei 2.JPG, Non-structural decorative lintel at Buddhist Banteay Srei, in Cambodia Image:Ellora_cave03_002.jpg, Non-structural lintel in Buddhist cave temple at Ellora Caves, India File:Elias tagger gerbergasse bz (3).jpg, Door lintel in Bozen-Bolzano from 1632 with Elias Tagger's coat of arms, South Tyrol, Italy Image:16JDBG92.JPG, Non-structural marriage stone lintel at 'The Hill' farm, Dunlop, East Ayrshire, Scotland File:16thC lintel, Edinburgh Old Town.jpg, One of many 16th century door lintels in Edinburgh's
Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...
File:SimonsbathHouseFireplaceLintelDated1654.jpg,
Simonsbath House Simonsbath House is a historic house in Simonsbath on Exmoor in Somerset, England. The Grade II listed building is now the Simonsbath House Hotel, and outdoor activity centre. It lies in the valley of the River Barle and on the Two Moors Way foo ...
, Simonsbath, Exmoor Parish, Devon. Wooden lintel over kitchen fireplace with carved date of 1654 File:Jagdschloß Grunewald-23.jpg, Lintel above the entrance to
Jagdschloss Grunewald The Jagdschloss Grunewald, a hunting lodge, is the oldest preserved castle of Berlin, Germany. It is on the south waterfront of the Grunewaldsee and is part of the locality Dahlem (Berlin), Dahlem in the borough Steglitz-Zehlendorf. The Jagdsc ...
, Germany Linteau entrée 14 rue Larrey villa Lutétia.jpg, Lintel above a door from Paris


See also

{{Wiktionary, lintel * Span (architecture)


Notes

Architectural elements Doors Ornaments (architecture)