Researchers Find Bottles of Cherries at George Washington's Home
2024-06-21
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Researchers have made what they call a "spectacular" finding at the Mount Vernon home of America's first president: almost 30 bottles of preserved fruit.
2The bottles of cherries and berries were preserved in storage areas in the cellar of George Washington's home near the Potomac River.
3Researchers discovered the fruits during an archaeological dig connected to a restoration project.
4Jason Boroughs is Mount Vernon's head archaeologist.
5He said the discovery of so much perfectly preserved food from more than 250 years ago is almost unequaled.
6"Finding... fresh fruit, 250 years later, is pretty spectacular," Boroughs told the Associated Press.
7Whole pieces of fruit, recognizable as cherries, were found in some of the bottles.
8Other bottles held what appear to be gooseberries or currants, though testing is underway to confirm that.
9Mount Vernon is partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which is doing DNA testing on the fruit.
10The USDA is also examining more than 50 cherry pits recovered from the bottles to see if any of them can be planted.
11Benjamin Gutierrez, a USDA plant scientist, said the chances of using a cherry pit to grow a tree are low.
12Seeds preserve best when they are dry, and most of the pits found at Mount Vernon were wet.
13A couple of pits tested at first were not able to be used as seeds.
14Still, Gutierrez said the bottles are a remarkable find.
15In addition to DNA testing, he said chemical testing may be able to show if spices were used to preserve the fruits.
16Records at Mount Vernon show that George and Martha Washington enjoyed cherries, at least when mixed with the alcoholic drink known as brandy.
17Martha Washington's recipe for a "cherry bounce" drink survives.
18And Washington wrote that he took some cherry bounce with him on a trip across the Alleghenies in 1784.
19These cherries, though, were most likely bottled to be eaten as food, Boroughs said.
20The quality of the preservation suggests skilled work.
21The kitchen was overseen by an enslaved woman named Doll, who came to Mount Vernon in 1758 with Martha Washington.
22Boroughs said the slaves were probably responsible for the preservation process and described the work as "highly skilled."
23He added that if the work was poorly done it "wouldn't have survived this way."
24The bottles were found only because Mount Vernon is doing a $40 million restoration project on the house.
25The work is expected to be finished by the nation's 250th birthday in 2026.
26Boroughs said the archaeological dig started because the ground was going to be affected during structural repairs to the house.
27"We didn't expect to find all this," he said.
28Researchers know the bottles date to before 1775 because that is when a building project on the house led to the area being covered over with a brick floor.
29Mount Vernon announced back in April, at the start of its archaeological work, that it had found two bottles.
30As the dig continued, the number increased to 35 in six different storage pits.
31Six of the bottles were broken, with the other 29 in good condition.
32Twelve held cherries, 16 held the other berries believed to be currants and gooseberries, and one larger bottle held both cherries and other berries.
33Boroughs believes they have now uncovered all the cherries and berries that survived.
34"There is a lot of information that we're excited to get from these bottles," he said.
35I'm Andrew Smith.
1Researchers have made what they call a "spectacular" finding at the Mount Vernon home of America's first president: almost 30 bottles of preserved fruit. 2The bottles of cherries and berries were preserved in storage areas in the cellar of George Washington's home near the Potomac River. 3Researchers discovered the fruits during an archaeological dig connected to a restoration project. 4Jason Boroughs is Mount Vernon's head archaeologist. He said the discovery of so much perfectly preserved food from more than 250 years ago is almost unequaled. 5"Finding... fresh fruit, 250 years later, is pretty spectacular," Boroughs told the Associated Press. Whole pieces of fruit, recognizable as cherries, were found in some of the bottles. Other bottles held what appear to be gooseberries or currants, though testing is underway to confirm that. 6Mount Vernon is partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which is doing DNA testing on the fruit. The USDA is also examining more than 50 cherry pits recovered from the bottles to see if any of them can be planted. 7Benjamin Gutierrez, a USDA plant scientist, said the chances of using a cherry pit to grow a tree are low. Seeds preserve best when they are dry, and most of the pits found at Mount Vernon were wet. A couple of pits tested at first were not able to be used as seeds. 8Still, Gutierrez said the bottles are a remarkable find. In addition to DNA testing, he said chemical testing may be able to show if spices were used to preserve the fruits. 9Records at Mount Vernon show that George and Martha Washington enjoyed cherries, at least when mixed with the alcoholic drink known as brandy. Martha Washington's recipe for a "cherry bounce" drink survives. And Washington wrote that he took some cherry bounce with him on a trip across the Alleghenies in 1784. 10These cherries, though, were most likely bottled to be eaten as food, Boroughs said. 11The quality of the preservation suggests skilled work. The kitchen was overseen by an enslaved woman named Doll, who came to Mount Vernon in 1758 with Martha Washington. 12Boroughs said the slaves were probably responsible for the preservation process and described the work as "highly skilled." He added that if the work was poorly done it "wouldn't have survived this way." 13The bottles were found only because Mount Vernon is doing a $40 million restoration project on the house. The work is expected to be finished by the nation's 250th birthday in 2026. 14Boroughs said the archaeological dig started because the ground was going to be affected during structural repairs to the house. "We didn't expect to find all this," he said. 15Researchers know the bottles date to before 1775 because that is when a building project on the house led to the area being covered over with a brick floor. 16Mount Vernon announced back in April, at the start of its archaeological work, that it had found two bottles. 17As the dig continued, the number increased to 35 in six different storage pits. Six of the bottles were broken, with the other 29 in good condition. Twelve held cherries, 16 held the other berries believed to be currants and gooseberries, and one larger bottle held both cherries and other berries. 18Boroughs believes they have now uncovered all the cherries and berries that survived. 19"There is a lot of information that we're excited to get from these bottles," he said. 20I'm Andrew Smith. 21Matthew Barakat reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 22________________________________________________ 23spectacular - adj. very impressive 24preserve - v. to prevent food from decaying; to keep in good condition 25cellar - n. the part of a building that is below ground 26restore - v. to return something to good condition (by repairing, cleaning, etc. ) 27pit - n. the hard middle part of a fruit 28recipe - n. a set of instructions for making food or drink