A lintel or lintol is a type of beam that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the
Lintel above a door in Paris
Ornamental carved lintel over Mandapa entrance at Chennakesava Temple, in the Hoysala architecture tradition of southern India
Ornamental Chinese lintel at Zhan Yuan.
Structural lintel over entrance, Erechtheion, Athens, Greece
An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dat
Lintel
…These prestressed concrete lintels and blocks can serve as components that are packed together and propped to form a suspended-floor concrete slab. An arch functions as a curved lintel. In worldwide architecture of different eras and many cultures, a lintel has been an element of post and lintel construction…
A complex funicular model (Church of Colònia Güell by Gaudi, 19th century)
Arcades of Pont du Gard (Roman)
Separating arches in the St. Zeno church [de]