Archaeologists at George Washington’s Mount Vernon have discovered dozens of glass jars stuffed with fruit preserves within the cellar of the historic Northern Virginia home that “likely haven’t seen the sunshine of day since before the American Revolution.”
Twenty-nine of the 35 bottles remain intact, and all contain either cherries, gooseberries or currants, the house and museum of the primary U.S. president revealed in a press release Friday.
“Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine this spectacular archaeological discovery,” Mount Vernon President & CEO Doug Bradburn said in an announcement.
“We were ecstatic last month to uncover two fully intact 18th-century bottles containing biological matter. Now we all know those bottles were just the start of this blockbuster discovery.”
Bradburn called the invention an “unprecedented” find, adding, “nothing of this scale and significance has ever been excavated in North America. We now possess a bounty of artifacts and matter to investigate which will provide a strong glimpse into the origins of our nation, and we’re crossing our fingers that the cherry pits discovered can be viable for future germination. It’s so appropriate that these bottles have been unearthed shortly before the 250th anniversary of america,” which can be in 2026.
The invention comes two months after two bottles were found that contained a “mysterious” liquid, together with cherries and pits.
Experts imagine that the bottles were originally stuffed with cherries.
The glass bottles were placed in the bottom between 1758 and 1776 to refrigerate food.
“For whatever reason, these were left behind, they usually were in pristine condition, and that’s why that is such a rare find, because you only don’t find 18th-century food stays, intact, outside of things like animal bones, that are pretty durable,” Mount Vernon principal archaeologist Jason Boroughs told FOX 5 DC on the time.
The newly found bottles have all been extracted from the five storage pits where they were found in the house’s cellar and the preserves are under refrigeration at the house’s archeology lab.
The artifacts will soon undergo scientific evaluation in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service.
To this point, 54 cherry pits and 23 stems have been identified, meaning the bottles were likely filled with cherries when bottled.
Once the bottles are dry, they can be sent off-site for conservation.
The archaeological finds come because the home undergoes a privately funded $40 million Mansion Revitalization Project at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.
Bardburn said the bottles “likely haven’t seen the sunshine of day since before the American Revolution,” and were possibly forgotten about when Washington left his home to steer the Continental Army throughout the Revolution.
He continued, “This implies the bottles are extremely fragile and require the utmost care. The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association was America’s first historic preservation organization, so it’s only fitting that such a remarkable discovery was made here at Mount Vernon. We’re fortunate to have top archaeologists and historic preservation experts on staff who know how you can effectively manage, analyze, and look after this extraordinary discovery.”
Within the 18th century, placing preserves underground was one of the simplest ways of keeping them within the Virginia heat.
“Among the best ways to store these kind of vegatables and fruits was underground,” Boroughs said after the primary discovery.
“So sometime after 1758, but before 1776, someone dug a pit… type of an oblong, a few foot deep, hole through considered one of the floors within the cellar, these bottles were set in, after which it was stuffed with a dense clay.”
After the second discovery he added, “These extraordinary discoveries proceed to astonish us. These perfectly preserved fruits picked and ready greater than 250 years ago provide an incredibly rare opportunity to contribute to our knowledge of the 18th-century environment, plantation foodways, and the origins of American cuisine. “
“The bottles and contents are a testament to the knowledge and skill of the enslaved individuals who managed the food preparations from tree to table, including Doll, the cook delivered to Mount Vernon by Martha Washington in 1759 and charged with oversight of the estate’s kitchen.”
Washington moved to the house along the Potomac River after his marriage in 1759, and died there of a throat infection in 1799 at 67 years old.
He served as president from 1789 until 1797, and is buried at the house.
