Encyclopedia
1796 Mutual Assurance Plat
A plat by Jefferson with detailed descriptions and sketches of the main house, South Pavilion, and structures along Mulberry Row.
Archaeology
Articles about the discoveries made by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation's Archaeology Department.
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![Jefferson's sketch of Monticello and buildings along Mulberry with descriptions of each written out for insurance purposes, 1796. Labeled as N133; K136. Dimensions: 45.7 cm x 22.1 cm (18" x 8-11/16"). Original manuscript from the Coolidge Collection of Thomas Jefferson Manuscripts, Massachusetts Historical Society.]()
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![A small a-frame clapboard structure with a simple wooden door, one window, and a chimney on one side.]()
EncyclopediaDwelling (MRS 2)
An unnamed log dwelling for the enslaved not listed in Jefferson's records.
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![A small wood-and-daub building with a door and a log-and-daub chimney on the side.]()
EncyclopediaDwelling (MRS 4)
Dwelling for enslaved people
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![Aerial of Monticello's South Wing.]()
StoryExcavating Monticello's First Kitchen and South Wing
Exciting discoveries in the South Pavilion and the adjacent South Wing that connects the Pavilion to the mansion.
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![Specialty bricks from Monticello East lawn excavations]()
PageMarch 30, 2026: Discovery of East Lawn Brick Kiln
Archaeologists at Monticello have recently discovered a brick kiln on the East Lawn of the Monticello mountaintop. This is an exciting development and a reminder that we are still actively learning about Monticello, its built environment, and the people who lived and labored here.
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StoryMonticello's Lucky Penny
Unlike the documents on which historians rely, archaeological deposits do not come with dates. But there are exceptions.
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EncyclopediaMulberry Row Phases
Three 360-degree recreations of Monticello's Mulberry Row that demonstrate how the plantation changed during Jefferson's lifetime.
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![Assemblage of coarse earthenware vessel bases.]()
PageNov. 20, 2024: Coarse Earthenware at Site 30
A growing body of scholarship on locally made coarse earthenwares in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic has provided archaeologists with important comparative data and insights into the regional production, marketing, and use of coarse earthenwares.
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![A map of the the Monticello home farm by Thomas Jefferson, showing the location of the main house along with road, streams, and the boundaries of various farmed areas of the larger plantation, drawn ink on brown paper. (N209/K168 recto)]()
StoryPiecing Together Minerva Granger's Life Using Archaeological and Documentary Sources
Minerva Granger was one of the enslaved women who was essential to Jefferson’s agricultural endeavors on his plantation.
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![Aerial of Monticello's mountaintop looking from its east side over the main house and west lawn toward Montalto.]()
StorySecrets of Monticello's East Lawn
How Jefferson, relying on the labor of enslaved workers, sculpted the topography of Monticello's East Lawn in a radical transformation of the mountaintop landscape.
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![Figure 1: Geoarchaeological consultant Dan Hayes takes copious notes.]()
StorySoil or Sediment? Horizons or Deposits? Geoarchaeology to the Rescue!
Archaeological excavations in 2012 to advance the Kitchen Road Restoration Project yielded several important discoveries including the possible base of the Kitchen Path that connected the main house to Mulberry Row and to the terraced vegetable garden to the south.
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EncyclopediaStorehouse for Iron
Workshop for tinsmithing and nail-making, and living quarters for enslaved workers.
