Students Unearth 6,000-Year-Old Stone Axe at Mount Vernon
By Meilan Solly
November 1, 2018
Long before George Washington moved into Mount Vernon, a Native American roaming the lands that would later become the first president’s estate lost a prized belonging: a three-inch wide, seven inch-long, carefully crafted stone axe likely used for cutting or carving wood. It would remain missing for some 6,000 years, Michael E. Ruane writes for The Washington Post, only resurfacing during a routine dig conducted at the historic home last month.
Dominic Anderson and Jared Phillips, a pair of high school seniors who hail from Akron, Ohio, happened upon the ancient axe while helping to map out the dimensions of a cemetery believed to house the remains of Mount Vernon’s slaves and their descendants. The two were sifting through sediment when they spotted the axe, which bore a striking resemblance to a lumpy potato after spending 6,000 years exposed to the elements.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/students-unearth-6000-year-old-stone-axe-mount-vernon-180970684/
