This spring, Mount Vernon made national headlines during the Mansion Revitalization Project when its team of archaeologists unearthed 35 glass bottles, mostly containing preserved cherries.
Below, watch a time-lapse video documenting the excavation of the first two bottles. Photos were taken every 30 seconds as the team carefully removed the clay fill from around the bottles using trowels and other tools, while also collecting the soil to be water screened.
Once the bottles were fully exposed and the pit completely excavated, black-and-white scales were arranged, and photos were taken for official records. Finally, the bottles were removed from the ground, and the last bit of fill in the pit was cleared, completing the excavation.
