250px, ''Saubat de Arraidou et Maria de Hiriart 1743''
Atalburu in Lower Navarre with a lauburu and founders' names">lauburu.html" ;"title="Lower Navarre with a lauburu">Lower Navarre with a lauburu and founders' names image:Atalburu Mandoz.jpg">250px, ''Iesus Maria Ioseph hilçiaz orhoitg-ziten Io(a)nnes de Urtiaga, Martin d'Errecalde et Maria d'Errecalde, 1727'' (the first half translating as "In memory of JMJ's death") Atalburu (from Basque ''atari'' 'doorway' ''buru'' 'head') is the name given to the

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) 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 case o ...

above the main entrance of traditional Basque houses. It was usual for each new house, particularly in the province of

Lower Navarre Lower Navarre ( eu, Nafarroa Beherea/Baxenabarre; Gascon/Bearnese: ''Navarra Baisha''; french: Basse-Navarre ; es, Baja Navarra) is a traditional region of the present-day French ''département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It corresponds to the ...

, to engrave on these stones: * the year of construction, * the name of spouses, * religious symbols, as a cross, * other traditional motives, as a

lauburu The lauburu (Basque: ''lau'' ("four") + ''buru'' ("head")) is an ancient hooked cross with four comma-shaped heads and the most widely known traditional symbol of the Basque Country and the Basque people. In the past, it has also been associate ...

or simply its constitutive

comma The comma is a punctuation mark that appears in several variants in different languages. It has the same shape as an apostrophe or single closing quotation mark () in many typefaces, but it differs from them in being placed on the baseline o ...

dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primaril ...

s symbol of fidelity, stylized

plant Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

s symbol of

prosperity Prosperity is the flourishing, thriving, good fortune and successful social status. Prosperity often produces profuse wealth including other factors which can be profusely wealthy in all degrees, such as happiness and health. Competing notion ...

, rosettes of

laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (m ...

leaves, symbol of immortality or various others as sun, stars... * working tools The text may have religious references, for example: * ''Au nom du Père et du Fils et du St Esprit m'a fait bâtir l'an 1806'' ('In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Gost, (one) made me build in year 1806')... Traditionally, all Basque houses have a name, but this was seldom written on the ''atalarri'' and more commonly found on the '' armarria''. On modern houses, the house name is frequently engraved on a stele near the door. Once a house is named, the name is virtually never changed.

See also