No lie: Perfectly preserved centuries-old cherries unearthed at George Washington’s Mount Vernon

Matthew Barakat, Associated Press

MOUNT VERNON, Va. (AP) — George Washington ne'er did trim down nan cherry tree, contempt the celebrated communicative to nan contrary, but he did battalion distant rather a fewer bottles of nan consequence astatine his Mount Vernon home.

Dozens of bottles of cherries and berries — impossibly preserved successful retention pits uncovered from nan cellar of his mansion connected nan banks of nan Potomac River — were discovered during an archaeological excavation connected to a restoration project.

Jason Boroughs, Mount Vernon’s main archaeologist, said nan find of truthful overmuch perfectly preserved nutrient from much than 250 years agone is fundamentally unprecedented.

“Finding what is fundamentally caller fruit, 250 years later, is beautiful spectacular,” Boroughs said successful an interview. “All nan stars benignant of person to align successful nan correct mode for that to happen.”

Whole pieces of fruit, recognizable arsenic cherries, were recovered successful immoderate of nan bottles. Other bottles held what look to beryllium gooseberries aliases currants, though testing is underway to corroborate that.

Mount Vernon is partnering pinch nan U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is conducting DNA testing connected nan fruit. They are besides examining much than 50 cherry pits recovered from nan bottles to spot if immoderate of them tin beryllium planted.

Curator Lily Carhart holds up different samples of liquid they extracted from a fewer twelve 18th-century solid bottles that contained consequence aft they were unearthed from nan cellar of George Washington’s residence successful Mount Vernon, Va., Monday, June 17, 2024. | Nathan Ellgren, AP Photo

“It’s benignant of a longshot,” said Benjamin Gutierrez, a USDA works geneticist, of nan chances of utilizing a cherry pit to turn a tree. Seeds sphere champion erstwhile they are dry, and astir of nan samples recovered astatine Mount Vernon were waterlogged. A mates of pits tested initially were not viable arsenic seeds.

Still, he said nan bottles are a singular find. In summation to DNA testing, he said chemic testing whitethorn beryllium capable to show if peculiar spices were utilized to sphere nan fruits.

Records astatine Mount Vernon show that George and Martha Washington were fond of cherries, astatine slightest erstwhile mixed pinch brandy. Martha Washington’s look for a “cherry bounce” cocktail survives, and Washington wrote that he took a canteen of cherry bounce pinch him connected a travel crossed nan Alleghenies successful 1784.

These cherries, though, were astir apt bottled to beryllium eaten simply arsenic cherries, Boroughs said.

The value of nan preservation bespeak a precocious caliber of work. Slaves ran nan plantation’s kitchen. The room was overseen by an enslaved female named Doll, who came to Mount Vernon successful 1758 pinch Martha Washington, according to nan estate.

“The enslaved folks who were taking attraction of nan trees, picking nan fruit, moving successful nan kitchen, those would person been nan folks that astir apt would person overseen and done this process,” Boroughs said. “It’s a highly skilled process. Otherwise they conscionable wouldn’t person survived this way.”

The bottles were recovered only because Mount Vernon is doing a $40 cardinal revitalization task of nan mansion that they expect to beryllium completed by nan nation’s 250th day successful 2026.

“When we do archaeology, it’s destructive,” Boroughs said. “So unless we person a logic to disturb those resources, we thin not to.”

“In this case, because of these needed structural repairs to nan mansion, nan crushed was going to beryllium disturbed. So we looked location first,” he continued. “We didn’t expect to find each this.”

They cognize nan bottles predate 1775 because that’s erstwhile an description of nan mansion led to nan area being covered complete pinch a ceramic floor.

Mount Vernon announced backmost successful April, astatine nan commencement of its archaeological work, that it had recovered 2 bottles. As nan excavation continued, nan number accrued to 35 successful six chopped retention pits. Six of nan bottles were broken, pinch nan different 29 intact. Twelve held cherries, 16 held nan different berries believed to beryllium currants and gooseberries, and 1 larger vessel held some cherries and different berries.

Boroughs believes they person now uncovered each nan cherries and berries that survived.

“There is simply a batch of accusation that we’re excited to get from these bottles,” he said.

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