The slab stela was an original form of the stele

Stele

A stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...

s of ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

, but in a horizontal dimension. Some of the earliest ones from mid- to late-3rd millennium BC were painted Slab Steles. A small list of Ancient Egyptian dignitaries or their wives had a Slab stela.

Some funerary stelas were in the form of slab steles, as opposed to being the more common vertical stele.

Lintel (archaeology)

At the same time period of the middle 3rd millennium BC and later, some famous horizontal lintels were made. Hemon

Hemon

Hemiunu is believed to be the architect of the Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt.- Biography :Hemiunu was a son of Prince Nefermaat and his wife Itet, a grandson of Sneferu and relative of Khufu, the Old Kingdom pharaoh...

-(Hemiunu), the noted architect had one; it is housed in the Pelizaeus Museum

Roemer-und-Pelizaeus-Museum

The Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum, in Hildesheim, Germany, is one of the most important museums in Europe with regard to Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Peruvian art. The museum also includes the second largest collection of Chinese porcelain in Europe...

 of Germany. The horizontal archaeological lintel was used in other cultures in ancient times, for example in the mesopotamia

Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...

n cultures.

See also

• Stele
  Stele
  A stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...
  
  
• Lintel (architecture)
  Lintel (architecture)
  A lintel can be a load-bearing building component, a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. It is often found over portals, doors, and windows.-Structural uses:...