20. Original Monticello
A project began in 2017 to restore the South Wing of the Monticello mansion. Archeologists took the opportunity to study the construction of the building and made some interesting discoveries along the way. Jefferson’s slaves completed Monticello’s South Pavilion in 1770, about two years after they started. His original living quarters were on the top floor of that section, the kitchen on the bottom. There was eventually a wing that connected this pavilion to the main structure, completed in 1809. Jefferson lived in the main structure by then.
19. South Pavilion Discoveries
After Jefferson moved out of the South Pavilion, the kitchen on the bottom floor became a wash house. When the archeologists working on the project compared Jefferson’s original blueprint to the washroom, they couldn’t find evidence of the kitchen. Then they started digging. Below the floor of what was a modern men’s room for visitors, they found minor artifacts, porcelain, ironstone, glass. Then they found brick flooring. When Jefferson completed the South Wing, he had them bring up the floor of the old kitchen to match the floor height of the new section. Archeologists had just uncovered that original floor.