Clay pots of Ottoman Architecture: Acoustics, structure and ventilation

Clay pottery is a multi-functional application whose acoustical, structural and ventilative employment is widespread in Anatolia. They are also observed in the significant number of structures that belong to the Ottoman Architecture some of which were designed by Sinan, the architect laureate of Ottoman Empire. One of his works, Sü leymaniye Mosque, also contains substantial number of pots in its grand dome. The recent acoustic measurements held in the structure exhibited significantly high reverberation times especially in the low frequency ranges. Such long decays set forth the question whether the clay pots were designed to act as Helmholtz resonators that would control the low frequencies in their original state. In this regard, the study aims to exhibit the state of the art of the clay pottery that were presumably utilized as cavity resonators, filling elements and channels for ventilation through an archival research. The information in relation to the sizes and forms of the pots, their placement, and number in selected structures is presented not only to set a ground to compare their utilization with their contemporaries around the world but also to initiate further studies on the working principles of the cavity resonators in historic structures.