George Washington’s Cache of 100-Year-Old Cherries Found Under Mount Vernon Floor

The cherry bottles date back to the mid-18th century and are a “time capsule” showing the food preservation methods used at the time.

In a fascinating archaeological discovery at George Washington’s historic Virginia home, Mount Vernon, researchers unearthed two glass bottles full of cherries dating back to the mid-18th century.

The discovery was made during ongoing excavations aimed at revitalizing the mansion, revealing a look into colonial culinary practices and preservation methods, Live Science reveals.

The bottles, believed to have been manufactured between the 1740s and 1750s, were hidden beneath a brick floor installed in the 1770s. This surprising discovery was announced by Mount Vernon and reported by The Washington Post.

The team of researchers, led by archaeologist Jason Boroughstransferred the cherries, along with their pits, stems and a mysterious “viscous residue“, to smaller containers for later analysis.

Boroughs described the moment the team reached the bottom of the jars: “It really smelled like cherry blossoms“, highlighting the preservation of the fruit’s aroma over the centuries.

The amber-colored liquid inside the bottles is thought to be groundwater that seeped in as the original corks deteriorated.

Researchers speculate that these cherries were harvested in Mount Vernon in the 1770spossibly before the Revolutionary War, and which were probably intended for future consumption.

The act of burying these bottles, which took place between 1758 and 1776, encapsulates a slice of colonial life, offering a “time capsule” of the time.

This practice is in in tune with the popular cologne drinkl known as cherry bounceGeorge and Martha Washington’s favorite concoction, made from brandy, spices, sugar and cherry juice.

However, the small size of the bottles suggests that these particular cherries were not intended for cherry bounce, but possibly for other culinary uses such as cooking.

The practice of preserving fruits and vegetables during the 18th century often involved dry the products and seal them in bottles before burying them, a method documented in contemporary accounts.

Preserved cherries will not have been collected by Washington itselfn, but by some of the hundreds of enslaved individuals who resided at Mount Vernon.

This discovery joins a series of similar finds in Virginia, where aged cherries and other fruits have been found in bottles at historic sites such as Williamsburg in 1966 and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in 1981.