Key words -fluted base modeling (column) -composite pillars -eave ( edge projecting out frm roof to drain

watr) -column -architrave(top of column below roof) tat cantilever like -bevelled edge architrave

Pillars
From simple, barely adorned granite columns, pillars evolved into stone plants: trunks of palm trees and bundles of lotus plants, reeds or papyrus, often used side by side. Under Ramses II monumental forests of pillars were erected. The 5000 m Hypostyle Hall contained 134 sandstone pillars, the tallest of which were 23 metres tall and had a diameter of 3.5 m. Because of their size, they had to be put together from half cylinders instead of the usual full cylinders. The columns were seemingly given their final shape in situ. Pillars were either free-standing or engaged, sometimes they were purely ornamental, never more so than in the case of pillar reliefs carved into walls. Pillars had also a symbolic role denoting stability and duration. Djed pillars, perhaps originating in posts to which ears of corn were tied, symbolized fertility. They became Osiris pillars which

were the backbone of the god, supporting the sky and appeared first in Djoser's pyramid complex. Later they took the form ofOsiris himself. Often the Djed pillars were just decorative without any structural importance. New Kingdom papyriform pillars with closed or open flower capitals were symbols for the sky crossed by the path of the sun: in the early morning the flowers are still closed but then open with the progress of the sun across the sky. They can be seen in the temples at Luxor. Thutmose erected at Karnak two pillars which were symbolic for the united Egypt: one decorated with papyrus plants denoting Lower Egypt, the other Upper Egypt's lotus. The head of the goddess Hathor was at times depicted on round or square pillars. The entrance hall of the temple dedicated to her at Denderah had 24 pillars crowned with heads of the goddess. An abacus (from Greek abax, slab) was often inserted between pillar and architrave and was at times decorated with a cartouche.

Lintel (architecture)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See also: Post and lintel

Structural lintel

Ancient Roman Severan Basilica at Leptis Magna, Libya.

A lintel can be a load-bearing building component, a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. It is often found overportals, doors, and windows.
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1 Structural uses 2 Ornamental uses 3 Examples gallery 4 See also 5 Notes

[edit]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. A lintel is defined as a structural horizontal block that spans the space or opening between two vertical supports.[1] 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.[2] In ancient Western classical architecture the lintel, called an architrave, is a structural element that 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 theTreasury of Atreus in Mycenae, Greece.

Ornamental carved lintel over Mandapaentrance at Chennakesava Temple, in theHoysala architecture tradition of southern India.

[edit]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. An example of the ornamental use of lintels are in 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 a wood, imitating the nuances of a wooden structure and the wood grain in excavating cave temples from monolithic rock. [3] 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 era was an important period in the development of art and architectural the South Indian Kannadigan culture. It is remembered today primarily for its Hindu temples' mandapa, lintels, and other architectural elements, such as at the Chennakesava Temple. The Maya civilization in the Americas was known for its sophisticated art and monumental architecture. The Mayan city of Yaxchilan, on theUsumacinta 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. [4]

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