Search 3,839 items documenting a vast array of fabrics, seeds, medicines, shoes, foodstuffs, and plantation tools conveyed to Mount Vernon on 26 unique ships from 1754 to 1773.
BlogWelcome to Mount Vernon’s Midden Project
This website will present artifacts excavated by archaeologists at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s Virginia plantation along the Potomac River. The South Grove Midden (or trash pile) was excavated in the early 1990s. Archaeologists found more than 50,000 artifacts from more than 400 ceramic and glass vessels used in the Mansion and kitchen. The feature also contained more than 28,000 animal bones and seeds, evidence of the meals enjoyed by the Washington family.
This significant feature has never been fully analyzed and understood. We know that the South Grove was a popular place for trash from the Mansion and kitchen to be thrown away. We also know that many of the 400 vessels are from the 1750s and 1760s, items that were discarded during the early years of George and Martha Washington’s ownership of the plantation. This was an especially important time in their lives as they settled into married life and Colonel Washington established himself as a member of the Virginia gentry.
The 400
A major part of the site will be the Objects database - 400 selected objects from the midden collection.
Available later this year.
