Hi HISTARCH: Historic Mount Vernon is searching for
an able, hardworking, committed graduate student
interested in environmental archaeology as a thesis
topic. This past spring, we excavated a well at
Washington’s Whiskey Distillery. Documentary sources
identified a well dug in May and June 1798 to supply
George Washington’s Distillery with water to operate
the stillhouse. The shape and location of this
feature, 10 feet west of the foundation centered on
the long axis of the building, suggested that this was
that well.
The material preserved within the well shaft is in
remarkably good condition. Though artifact and
ecofact processing is currently ongoing, it appears
the well was filled in sometime during the first half
of the 19th century, probably after the distillery
burned in 1814. Excavated material includes an
impressive array of environmentally indicative remains
including peach pits, beetles, seeds, twigs, tree
branches and leaves as well as architectural items
such as oak siding, cedar fence posts, sandstone and
brick, presumably evidence from dismantling structures
once located near the well. A glass tumbler base and
painted pearlware were among the few domestic
artifacts found within the shaft.
If you, or anyone you know, might be interested in
analyzing this rich assemblage, I can give you
additional information on the context and preliminary
ecofact identification. Thanks, Eleanor
Eleanor Breen
Assistant Archaeologist
Historic Mount Vernon
Email: [log in to unmask]
http://www.mountvernon.org/learn/pres_arch
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