Post-and-lintel construction

Post-and-lintel construction is a structural system in which horizontal beams rest on vertical supports. Its simple arrangement creates openings but concentrates bending and compression forces in a limited set of members.

Beam: A structural member designed primarily to carry loads across a span through bending and shear. The lintel is a beam whose bending resistance limits the width of an opening.
Lintel: A horizontal structural member spanning an opening and supported at both ends. The lintel is the beam directly bridging the space between the posts.
Stonehenge: A prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in England, built from large stones arranged in circles. Its trilithons are prominent examples of massive stone lintels resting on upright stones.
Trabeated architecture: Architecture based on horizontal beams supported by vertical posts or columns. This broader architectural principle underlies post-and-lintel buildings across different materials and cultures.
Column: A vertical structural member that carries loads mainly through compression. Posts act as columns, transferring the lintel’s load down to the foundation.
Post: A vertical support that carries loads from a horizontal member to a lower structure or ground. Posts provide the direct vertical supports on which the lintel rests.
Parthenon: A fifth-century BCE temple on the Acropolis of Athens, dedicated to Athena. Its colonnades and entablature organize a monumental building through repeated supports and horizontal members.
Greek temple: A sacred building type in ancient Greece, commonly organized around a columned exterior and central chamber. Greek temples made repeated post-and-lintel bays a defining feature of monumental exteriors.
Bending moment: The internal moment in a structural member caused by forces tending to bend it. A lintel’s bending moment grows with span and load, constraining how far posts can be spaced.
Stone architecture: Architecture in which stone is a primary material for structural or enclosing construction. Stone was widely used for posts and lintels, though its limited tensile capacity restricted spans.

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