Apparently, George Washington didn’t cut down all the cherry trees he came across. Archeologists uncovered a previously unknown stash of 35 bottles of preserved cherries in a cellar at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate, CBS News reports.
The bottles were buried in the mansion’s basement and unearthed in the course of current renovations, including foundation inspections. Of the 35 bottles found, around 27 are still intact; the condition of the contents are unknown.
“The bottles and contents are a testament to the knowledge and skill of the enslaved people who managed the food preparations from tree to table, including Doll, the cook brought to Mount Vernon by Martha Washington in 1759 and charged with oversight of the estate’s kitchen,” Mount Vernon officials said in the statement recognizing that the majority of labor done to develop and upkeep the estate was done by slaves.