Golosniks (Voice guides)

Golosnik is a ceramic vessel of chamber installed in the masonry walls and facing its spout inside the room. The use of golosniks allowed, firstly, to reduce the load on the supporting structures of the building (first of all, to lighten the arches), and, secondly, to significantly improve acoustics of the room. This practice was common in Byzantium and goes back to ancient times. In Rus’ both imported amphorae and specially made vessels with elongated straight spouts were used as golosniks (voice boxes). The choice of the type of golosnik was probably determined by availability of particular vessels.