Preventive excavations of the old Chartreuse de Champmol have revealed numerous information on the history of the religious site.
From its gardens to its monumental press, a look back at the history of a busy daily life.Built in 1383 on a site which was still outside the city of Dijon, the charterhouse of the Holy Trinity of Champmol first had the role of hosting the tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy.
Founded by Philip the Bold, son of King John II of France and first Duke of the House of Valois-Bourgogne, the Chartreuse was to compete with the Saint-Denis basilica at the time. It was an exceptional religious building, a flagship of the Burgundian Renaissance, which has now disappeared.
Now converted into a psychiatric hospital center, the site was recently the subject of preventive archaeological excavations as part of the construction of a specialized reception center. Carried out by the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) from September 26 to December 9, these studies allowed the rediscovery of part of the Chartreuse’s past.
And under the mud, a garden
Carried out ahead of development work, Inrap’s diagnostics and excavations aim to find and save any archaeological data from a supposed site.
In the case of the Chartreuse de Champmol, archaeologists were able to rely on numerous period documents, such as plans and artist representations.
Among the remains emerging from the ground, archaeologists were able to find several important structures of the original monastery; traces of the medieval gardens, the press and the old fishpond have thus been identified.
According to the archaeologist, the reservoir originally came from the arm of one of the nearby rivers, which was channeled by the Carthusians in order to protect the gardens and presses. It would then have been isolated and would have played several roles, notably that of a fishpond and water reserve.
Thanks to the filling, the various objects that fell to the bottom of the canal over the years, such as wooden or leather artifacts, could also be preserved.Undoubtedly used to drain the land before filling the fishpond, a pipe of masonry stones was also found in one of the branches of the reservoir.
Mechanical exavation and vase bucket
One of the main difficulties encountered by archaeologists during the excavation was the management of the water supply in the fishpond. Although isolated from the surrounding rivers, the very humid terrain is also very close to a water table.
Although many artifacts were thus extracted from the mud, no stratification could be observed. The majority of objects nevertheless seem to uniformly date from the 17th century.
Once excavated, these objects will then go into stabilization in order to avoid too rapid degradation. Objects made of metal, wood, but also leather are particularly concerned. They will then be identified, identified and studied.
Depending on the nature of the artifacts and the results of their analyses, several possibilities will then be possible. Depending on their historical interest, certain objects could be included in museum collections; otherwise, they will be stored in state reserves.
Several buckets of sediment were also taken from different depths of the tank, in order to extract different data. They will mainly be used for carpology analyzes or, in other words, the study of seeds and fruits.
Mark