Scientists 'blown away' by incredible 250-year-old discovery in wine cellar
The fruits are believed to date back to George Washington's time.
Scientists have been left “blown away” after they excavated bottles from the basement of the first US president's Virginia estate.
During the discovery, they found that the glass contained perfectly preserved fruit, including cherries and possibly gooseberries or currants.
The fruits are believed to date back to former US President George Washington's time.
Dozens of bottles of cherries and berries, remarkably preserved in storage pits, were discovered in the cellar of his mansion on the banks of the Potomac River during an archaeological dig associated with a restoration project.
Jason Boroughs, Mount Vernon's principal archaeologist, said the discovery of so much perfectly preserved food from more than 250 years ago is essentially unprecedented.
Mr Boroughs told the BBC: “Finding what is essentially fresh fruit, 250 years later, is pretty spectacular. All the stars sort of have to align in the right manner for that to happen.”
Some of the bottles contained whole pieces of fruit that were identifiable as cherries. Other bottles seemed to hold gooseberries or currants, although testing is currently being conducted to confirm this.
Mount Vernon is collaborating with the US. Department of Agriculture, which is conducting DNA testing on the fruit.
Additionally, they are analysing over 50 cherry pits recovered from the bottles to determine if any can be planted.
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“It's kind of a longshot,” said Benjamin Gutierrez, a USDA plant geneticist, of the chances of using a cherry pit to grow a tree.
Seeds preserve best when they are dry, but most of the samples found at Mount Vernon were waterlogged. Initial tests on a couple of pits showed they were not viable as seeds.
Despite this, he noted that the bottles are a remarkable find. Besides DNA testing, chemical testing might reveal if specific spices were used to preserve the fruits.
Records at Mount Vernon indicate that George and Martha Washington were fond of cherries, especially when mixed with brandy.
The bottles were found only because Mount Vernon is doing a $40 million revitalization project of the mansion that they expect to be completed by the nation's 250th birthday in 2026.
Mr Boroughs said: “When we do archaeology, it’s destructive. So unless we have a reason to disturb those resources, we tend not to.
“In this case, because of these needed structural repairs to the mansion, the ground was going to be disturbed. So we looked there first. We didn’t expect to find all this.”
