Researchers have made what they call a “spectacular” finding at the Mount Vernon home of America’s first president: almost 30 bottles of preserved fruit.
研究人员在美国第一任总统的家——弗农山庄发现了他们称之为“壮观”的发现：近30瓶保存完好的水果。

The bottles of cherries and berries were preserved in storage areas in the cellar of George Washington’s home near the Potomac River.
这些瓶装的樱桃和浆果被保存在乔治·华盛顿家靠近波托马克河的地窖储藏区。

Researchers discovered the fruits during an archaeological dig connected to a restoration project.
研究人员在与一个修复项目相关的考古挖掘中发现了这些水果。

Jason Boroughs is Mount Vernon’s head archaeologist. He said the discovery of so much perfectly preserved food from more than 250 years ago is almost unequaled.
杰森·博罗斯是弗农山庄的首席考古学家。他说，发现如此多保存完好的250多年前的食物几乎是前所未有的。

“Finding… fresh fruit, 250 years later, is pretty spectacular,” Boroughs told the Associated Press. Whole pieces of fruit, recognizable as cherries, were found in some of the bottles. Other bottles held what appear to be gooseberries or currants, though testing is underway to confirm that.
“找到……250年后的新鲜水果，确实是相当壮观的，”博罗斯告诉美联社。一些瓶子里发现了完整的水果，可以辨认出是樱桃。其他瓶子里装的似乎是醋栗或黑醋栗，不过正在进行测试以确认这一点。

Mount Vernon is partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which is doing DNA testing on the fruit. The USDA is also examining more than 50 cherry pits recovered from the bottles to see if any of them can be planted.
弗农山庄正与美国农业部（USDA）合作，对这些水果进行DNA检测。美国农业部还在检查从这些瓶子中回收的50多个樱桃核，看看其中是否有可以种植的。

Benjamin Gutierrez, a USDA plant scientist, said the chances of using a cherry pit to grow a tree are low. Seeds preserve best when they are dry, and most of the pits found at Mount Vernon were wet. A couple of pits tested at first were not able to be used as seeds.
本杰明·古铁雷斯是美国农业部的一位植物科学家，他说，用樱桃核种树的几率很低。种子在干燥时保存最好，而在弗农山庄发现的大多数种子都是湿的。最初测试的几个樱桃核不能用作种子。

Still, Gutierrez said the bottles are a remarkable find. In addition to DNA testing, he said chemical testing may be able to show if spices were used to preserve the fruits.
尽管如此，古铁雷斯说，这些瓶子是一个非凡的发现。除了DNA检测，他说化学检测可能还会显示是否使用了香料来保存这些水果。

Records at Mount Vernon show that George and Martha Washington enjoyed cherries, at least when mixed with the alcoholic drink known as brandy. Martha Washington’s recipe for a “cherry bounce” drink survives. And Washington wrote that he took some cherry bounce with him on a trip across the Alleghenies in 1784.
弗农山庄的记录显示，乔治和玛莎·华盛顿喜欢樱桃，至少是在与一种叫白兰地的酒精饮料混合时。玛莎·华盛顿的“樱桃酒”饮料配方至今留存。华盛顿写道，他在1784年穿越阿巴拉契亚山脉的旅行中带了一些樱桃酒。

These cherries, though, were most likely bottled to be eaten as food, Boroughs said.
博罗斯说，这些樱桃很可能是为了食用而装瓶的。

The quality of the preservation suggests skilled work. The kitchen was overseen by an enslaved woman named Doll, who came to Mount Vernon in 1758 with Martha Washington.
保存的质量表明这是一项技艺高超的工作。厨房由一位名叫多尔的奴隶妇女负责，她于1758年与玛莎·华盛顿一同来到弗农山庄。

Boroughs said the slaves were probably responsible for the preservation process and described the work as “highly skilled.” He added that if the work was poorly done it “wouldn’t have survived this way.”
博罗斯说，这些保存工作很可能是由奴隶负责的，并将这项工作描述为“技艺高超”。他补充说，如果工作做得不好，它“就不会以这种方式保存下来”。

The bottles were found only because Mount Vernon is doing a $40 million restoration project on the house. The work is expected to be finished by the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026.
这些瓶子之所以被发现，是因为弗农山庄正在进行一个耗资4000万美元的房屋修复项目。预计这项工作将在2026年美国建国250周年前完成。

Boroughs said the archaeological dig started because the ground was going to be affected during structural repairs to the house. “We didn’t expect to find all this,” he said.
博罗斯说，考古挖掘之所以开始，是因为房屋的结构修复会影响到地面。他说：“我们没想到会发现这些。”

Researchers know the bottles date to before 1775 because that is when a building project on the house led to the area being covered over with a brick floor.
研究人员知道这些瓶子是在1775年之前，因为那时房屋的一个建筑项目将该区域用砖地覆盖了。

Mount Vernon announced back in April, at the start of its archaeological work, that it had found two bottles.
弗农山庄在四月份考古工作开始时宣布，已经发现了两个瓶子。

As the dig continued, the number increased to 35 in six different storage pits. Six of the bottles were broken, with the other 29 in good condition. Twelve held cherries, 16 held the other berries believed to be currants and gooseberries, and one larger bottle held both cherries and other berries.
随着挖掘的继续，数量增加到了六个不同储藏坑中的35个瓶子。其中六个瓶子破碎，另外29个完好无损。十二个瓶子装的是樱桃，十六个瓶子装的是被认为是黑醋栗和醋栗的其他浆果，还有一个较大的瓶子装有樱桃和其他浆果。

Boroughs believes they have now uncovered all the cherries and berries that survived.
博罗斯认为他们已经找到了所有幸存下来的樱桃和浆果。

“There is a lot of information that we’re excited to get from these bottles,” he said.
他说：“我们很高兴从这些瓶子中获取大量信息。”