For four months, archaeologists sifted through Independence Mall soil, uncovering evidence of the home where slave-owning George Washington and antislavery John Adams lived and launched American democracy in the 1790s and where Washington held nine Africans in bondage.
Archaeologists uncovered the rear foundation of the house in early May, about a month after the dig began. Then, in quick succession, remnants of a great bow window Washington installed, the kitchen where his slaves toiled, and an underground passage used by slaves and servants were also discovered.
More than 300,000 visitors watched the process from a public viewing platform and discussed the now-visible relationship between freedom and slavery at the heart of the nation's founding.
The site will now be temporarily re-covered with earth to protect the resources while the city, the National Park Service, and the public try to determine what the next step will be.
Joyce Wilkerson, Mayor Street's chief of staff, said a decision should be forthcoming by early September, if not sooner.
"We didn't expect to find any of this," she said yesterday, referring to the bow window, thought to be a precursor of the oval-shaped rooms in the White House, and the kitchen and passageway foundations. "It is so powerful, particularly the [proximity] of the kitchen and the bow window."
The libation ceremony, conducted by Ayoka Quinones and Mukasa Afrika, specifically honored the nine slaves held by Washington at the site - Hercules, Oney Judge, Paris, Richmond, Austin, Moll, Joe, Giles and Christopher Sheels.
After each name was spoken, voices in the crowd shouted "Ashe" - Amen.
Small brass plates engraved with the names of the enslaved were placed inside the kitchen foundation and sprinkled with earth; two 2007 quarters, one with the image of Washington, the other featuring Adams, were placed near the bow window and similarly covered lightly with earth.
