The Fathers' cell gardens of the Charterhouse of Calci-Pisa in Tuscany (Central Italy): pollen and multidisciplinary reconstruction

The archaeological investigation of the Charterhouse of Calci-Pisa (Central Italy) is a research project launched in 2018 by a multidisciplinary team of the University of Pisa. Three different monks’ gardens (the Prior’s, the Apothecary’s, and the Master’s garden) have been investigated. The study focused not only on their structural transformations, evidenced by flowerbeds, pools, and fountains, but also paid special attention to pedological variations, plants diversity (114 pollen taxa), and the presence of root systems, animals, and microorganisms, to detail changes in use, such as the succession of crops and fertilisation practices. Palynological and archaeobotanical results allowed us to reconstruct the succession of seasons in the gardens, with colourful and fragrant flowers, ornamental, aromatic, medicinal herbs, and fruit trees. The gardens seem to have a functional space organisation strictly related to the monks' peculiar kind of life, their personalities and feelings, and their relationship with nature and divinity.