18th-century Glass Bottles in the Cellar

3D Model

This pit of 14 glass bottles, discovered in the cellar during the Mansion Revitalization Project, was the second such pit to be excavated by Mount Vernon’s Archaeology team. Researchers determined that the bottles within each pit contained the same contents, and this pit was no different—these bottles were found to contain gooseberries and currants.

Synthetic corks, used to prevent evaporation and contamination, and pink flagging tape are also visible in this model. These markers indicate the locations of other soon-to-be-excavated bottles, which were found to contain cherries. Additionally, a sump pump, likely built after the bottles were buried and forgotten, is visible. This sump pump was constructed to manage excess water in the cellar.