Abstract
Resonant vessels in ancient and medieval buildings are the subject of some historical and acoustic research today. There have been a number of detailed surveys of European churches, where acoustic pots remain in the buildings. Despite the fact that in medieval Russia the use of built-in vessels was very common in the construction of churches, they have been hardly considered in recent publications. Therefore, the first goal of this paper is to give a brief overview of the Russian experience. Some of the most interesting examples of Russian churches are presented, and among them there may be a world record for the number of the vessels in a single room. The Church of St. Nicholas in Pskov has about 300 pots inserted into the walls, apse and pendentives. The second goal is to study the efficiency of acoustic vessels in an ordinary room. Acoustic measurements were carried out in the Rachmaninov Hall, which is part of the Moscow Conservatory. This chamber concert hall built over 100 years ago has 29 vessels. The first conclusion is that the vessels behave like resonators, their natural frequencies have been identified. The second conclusion is that we found no considerable changes of the acoustics due to the vessels.
Highlights
Acoustic vessels in old buildings attract the attention of researchers from various fields of science
Valière et al [2] reviewed the acoustical experience of Vitruvius and its relation with pots inserted in the walls of the European churches
Acoustic vessels were widely used in Russian churches
Summary
Acoustic vessels in old buildings attract the attention of researchers from various fields of science. Historians investigate how knowledge was transmitted between peoples, architects study the development of construction science, for archaeologists the vessels offer unique evidence and, acousticians are interested in the reasons and benefits of their use. Every scientist working on the acoustic vessels mentions primarily Vitruvius’s treatise [1], which contains precise recommendations on the arrangement of bronze vessels or large clay jars in theatres. Valière et al [2] reviewed the acoustical experience of Vitruvius and its relation with pots inserted in the walls of the European churches. Arns and Crawford [3] described the use of resonant cavities in the history of architectural acoustics starting with Vitruvius. A large part of recent research was published in a special issue of the “Bulletin Monumental” [4]
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