Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States of America, was the author of the Declaration of Independence, brought about the change in religious freedom, and was also known for owning over six hundred slaves throughout his adult life. While he may have written, “all men are created equal”, he certainly did not live up to his own principles. Slavery was very prominent across the nation throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, and Monticello was no exception. Located in Albemarle County, Virginia, Jefferson inherited this vast piece of land at age twenty-six and named it Monticello, or “little mountain” in Italian. (History, A&E Networks.) This soon became known as the primary plantation land for Jefferson. Within Monticello, there are an extensive number of material cultures buried deep all around its 5,000 acres. In particular, the area of the Dry Well is an artifact-rich archaeological area. Material culture refers to the “physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their culture”, (Jefferson-MONTICELLO main website) and there is an abundance in the Monticello Dry Well. Material Culture proposes exciting and new glimpses into the past and broadens historic knowledge about sometimes forgotten people.
Monticello is influenced by the Neo Classicist style of France. Similarly, this Neo Classicist style of France had roots in ancient Rome. Jefferson was able to see this Neo Classicist architecture by visiting France firsthand during his travels when he was appointed to France as an American minister.
The Dry Well got its name due to the dry weather conditions. The water source at Monticello was a continuous effort for those dwelling on the mountaintop. In 1769, when construction commenced on Monticello, Thomas Jefferson hired a team of workers to dig a well in the vicinity of the South Pavilion. The laborers spent more than forty days digging through sixty-five feet of rock. Arid weather conditions, however, caused the well to fail and not provide water for six years between 1769 and 1797. (Edwin, Jack. Monticello) Each time the well went dry, water had to be carted up from springs down from the Mountain. Eventually, when the well kept running dry, it started being used as a cool-storage area for food and drinks and was located in the kitchen ‘area’ or kitchen yard. It was used then as what we use now as a refrigerator.
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This west kitchen yard encompassed over forty-five excavation units, “more than 350 individual archaeological contexts, and recovered more than 100,000 artifacts over the course of three field seasons from 1979 to 1981.” (DAACS, Monticello/Dry Well). From feather-edge creamware tableware, tea bowls, and basketry to saucers and cast-iron pot lids there was a lot to discover in the dry well. Although most of this kitchenware was exported from England for Jefferson’s use, there are many instances where his slaves would attempt to create similar cutlery and tableware but with distinct different designs. While the English tableware was decorated with feather-edge patterns and various floral designs, the ones rendered by slaves had more crisscross and sharp lines, along with some circular motions etched on them. (The Jefferson Monticello) This portrays their unique style of decoration and how they remained to make it even after being ripped away from their culture. The Monticello quarter site had a broad range of material objects recorded in the 1757 inventory. The slaves got two old seats to sit on after a long day in the field, along with various equipment. The cook, for instance, could arrange food using two pots and a pan. It was a rare occasion when a slave was even able to have their food on a plate. (History, A&E Networks) A couple of dozen slaves were given around eight broad hoes and ten hilling hoes and instructed to prepare harvests in a short sum of time. Monticello quarter slaves were also ordered to cut or trim down trees with saws, axes, and iron wedges. Some of these tools have similar markings or engravings in their corners. This symbolizes how strong the culture and nationalistic style was to the slaves.
In the Winter of 1981, after eighteen feet of excavation and thought of ending the digging, there was another surprising discovery in the dry well. “...six intact wine bottles, sitting upright at the bottom of the Dry Well, many with their corks still intact.” (DAACS). These three-hundred-year-old preserves were still standing and filled with liquid and “what they would soon discover, Jefferson-era preserved fruit.” (DAACS) Inside the bottles were little grapes, cranberries, and cherries, some of which were still whole. The fruits were sun-bleached and stored in the bottles for later use, somewhat similar to canned fruits today. It was mainly enslaved women who became ‘domestic’ servants to their Caucasian masters in the main house, “working as laundresses, parlor maids, cooks, and seamstresses”. Enslaved men often got work as “charcoal burners, blacksmiths, house joiners, nail-makers, and carpenters.”, (The Jefferson Monticello) so assuming by their jobs, it was mainly women who filled the dry well for extra cool storage.
Apart from the tools and tableware, the slave’s bodies were not marked often by whips, comparatively to other plantation workers. Jefferson was known by his family and slaves as “humane” as well as “kind and indulgent” as he seldom punished them. He, himself called slavery the “degrading submission of the captive”. (DAACS) There were rare occasions when he would send enslaved women who acted out of place to stand next to the dry well for hours at a time. Their ration of work was still expected to be completed and consequences had to be dealt with if not, such as not receiving dinner. The dry well may not seem like a significant or monumental part for many historians today, but it holds a lot of rich history that cannot be ignored. Throughout the two hundred years of occupation, the kitchen yard is the most artifact-filled archaeological site in all of Monticello. The excavation in the dry well has since ended, leaving a small area untouched and unexcavated to preserve the sediments.
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