The story of a six-year-old George Washington chopping down a cherry tree may be a legend, but archaeologists excavating at Mount Vernon, the home of the first president of the United States, made a very real discovery of 35 glass bottles filled with cherries and berries.
The bottles were found in five storage pits in the mansion's cellar, 29 of which were intact and contained "perfectly preserved cherries and berries, likely gooseberries or currants," according to a Thursday statement from Mount Vernon of George Washington.
Teams unearthed the 18th-century bottles during a $40 million revitalization project launched last year at Mount Vernon, Virginia. The bottles were retrieved from pits, refrigerated, and are slated for scientific analysis, the statement said.
The bottles, slowly drying, are "composed of materials and foods likely dating back to 250 years ago," and will be sent from Mount Vernon's archaeological lab to an external conservation center, according to the statement. The latest find follows the recent discovery of two intact glass bottles of European manufacture from the 18th century, filled with liquid, cherries, and pits in the same cellar, the organization said.
"Now we know those bottles were just the beginning of this remarkable discovery," said Doug Bradburn, President and CEO of Mount Vernon, in a statement.
Bradburn described the finds as "an unprecedented discovery," adding that "nothing of this scope and significance has ever been unearthed in North America." "The bottles and their contents testify to the knowledge and skill of enslaved individuals who managed food preparation from tree to table," said Jason Boroughs, Mount Vernon's chief archaeologist.
According to Bradburn, the bottles may have been forgotten when Washington left Mount Vernon to take command of the Continental Army. "It's likely these artifacts haven't seen the light since before the American Revolution," he said. "It's so fitting that these bottles have been brought to light just before the 250th anniversary of the United States."
11 Jul 2024
In a recent study, researchers explored how ABA modulates these ripening processes at both genetic and epigenetic levels through RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS).
29 Mar 2024
Today's cherry growers are confronted with cherry blight, caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae. In recent years, the disease has appeared more frequently in high and very high density planting and dwarfing rootstocks.
20 Dec 2024
A recent study analyzed four sour cherry cultivars, two dark-fleshed varieties, "Heimann R" and "Gorsemska," and two light-fleshed ones, "Montmorency" and "V70142", to determine differences in metabolite composition and antioxidant activity.
20 Dec 2024
The Consorzio Fitosanitario di Modena is particularly engaged in various specialized research activities in favor of cherry producers. Among those, the one related to the annual monitoring of D. suzukii is considered one of the most important to guide technical consultants.
