Ancient Architecture

Post and Lintel

Corbeling

Lion Gate at Mycenae. c. 1250 BCE.

Lion Gate. Photo by Orlovic. CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized.

This gate is a nice example of post and lintel architecture with this wonderful carved relief sculpture setting on top of the lintel. The gate is located at the city of Mycenae which gives its name to the Mycenaean civilization that preceded the ancient Greeks on the Greek mainland.

In this video, Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris talk about the Lion Gate at Mycenae.

The Treasury of Atreus. c. 1300-1250 BCE.

The Treasury of Atreus. Photo by Ken Russell Salvador. CC BY 2.0

In this video, Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris examine the Treasury of Atreus near Mycenae in Greece.

This form of structure - a tholos or beehive tomb - was built using post and lintel architecture for the entryway and corbeling for the domed space inside.

Temple of Dendur (from Nubia). c. 10 BCE.

The Temple of Dendur is now inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.