250-Year-Old Bottled Fruits Found in George Washington’s Mansion, Expert Calls It a 'Spectacular' Discovery

Researchers recently made some spectacular discoveries at the residence of the first U.S. President, George Washington in Virginia. Mount Vernon, the sprawling plantation previously owned by Washington recently underwent a $40 million revitalization project, Newsweek reported.

The renovation resulted in the discovery of 35 glass bottles in the cellar of the establishment from the 18th Century. Of the 35 bottles, 29 are surprisingly intact, containing perfectly preserved fruits, including cherries, gooseberries, and currants that are likely around 250 years old.

Some months before these findings researchers located two bottles containing liquid, cherries, and pits in a different area of the same cellar, Newsweek reported."Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine this spectacular archaeological discovery," Doug Bradburn, president and CEO of the Mount Vernon estate, said. "We were ecstatic last month to uncover two fully intact 18th-century bottles containing biological matter. Now we know those bottles were just the beginning of this blockbuster discovery."

The researchers found the first two bottles inside the pit beneath a brick floor laid in the 1770s, Smithsonian Magazine reported. The finds were dark green and made of glass. Its shape was characteristic of the style that was followed by artisans in the 1740s. The bottles contained items like cherries, their pits, and stems preserved in liquid.

The latter findings were unearthed from five storage pits, Smithsonian Magazine reported. Researchers are in the process of analyzing the contents of these particular bottles. Of the samples researchers have gone through till now, they have found 54 cherry pits and 23 cherry stems, as well as cherry pulp. The neatly cut stems indicated to researchers that their original trees were likely cut using shears. The cherries had a tart texture, meaning more acidity, which aided preservation. The emptied bottles are currently drying in a lab.

At present, researchers are examining if the pits could be used for growing more cherries, the Washington Post reported. Till now, they have not attained much success in this pursuit. "We broke open a few pits, and they were waterlogged, so that kills the potential to germinate it," Victoria Meakem, a molecular biologist at the Plant Genetic Resources Unit said. "But it’s something we’ve thought about."

From a scientific perspective as well this discovery is very crucial, according to researchers, Washington Post reported. It is rare for edible content to survive for almost two centuries, which has somehow happened in Mount Vernon. "There are very few examples where you could look at fruit remains in this condition." Benjamin Gutierrez, a plant geneticist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant Genetic Resources Unit added.

Researchers believe that the enslaved people of the estate were mainly responsible for the preservation, Smithsonian Magazine reported. "These perfectly preserved fruits picked and prepared more 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," Mount Vernon principal archaeologist, Jason Boroughs said. "The bottles and contents are a testament to the knowledge and skill of the enslaved people who managed the food preparations from tree to table."