Post and lintel construction is a basic structural system in which two or more vertical posts support a horizontal beam, the lintel, spanning the gap between them, one of the oldest and most fundamental building methods known. It underlies prehistoric megalithic structures such as Stonehenge, the column-and-architrave system of ancient Egyptian temples, and the classical Greek temple, where a colonnade of stone columns carries a continuous stone architrave. The technique remains foundational to timber and steel framed construction today, though the tensile strength of the lintel material limits how far it can span without additional support, a limitation that later spurred the development of the arch and vault to cover greater distances.
Connections
Associated With
Architecture, Art Forms post and lintel construction is a technique of the architecture art form.
Corbelling offered an alternative to post and lintel construction for spanning openings in masonry.
Half-timbering is a timber-frame elaboration of the basic post and lintel structural principle.
Parthenon, Works The Parthenon is built on the post and lintel system of classical Greek architecture.
Stonehenge, Works Stonehenge's trilithons use a post and lintel structural arrangement.
Sources
Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationPost and Lintel Construction, Wikipedia summary leadQuote, Post and Lintel Construction, Wikipedia summary lead
Post and lintel is a building system where strong horizontal elements are held up by strong vertical elements with large spaces between them. This is usually used to hold up a roof, creating a largely open space beneath, for whatever use the building is designed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did post and lintel construction give way to the arch and vault for spanning wide distances?
Post and lintel construction supports a horizontal beam, the lintel, on two or more vertical posts, and how far that lintel can span without extra support in the middle depends on the tensile strength of the material it is made from, since the underside of an unsupported beam is under tension and can crack or sag. This limitation, present in everything from Stonehenge to the colonnades of ancient Egyptian temples and Greek architecture, is what later spurred the development of the arch and vault, which work in compression instead and so can span greater distances without requiring an equally strong lintel material.
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