Construction crews working on renovating the University of Virginia rotunda have made a surprising and historically significant discovery.
"I saw that there was a piece of cut stone, which is very unusual to have in this location," Matt Schiedt told WCAV.
That cut stone turned out to be part of a chemistry lab dating back to the 1820s, and it was at least partially designed by Thomas Jefferson.
The lab had some features you'd find in any chemistry lab to this day, including heat sources and a ventilation system.
But the space was abandoned in the 1840s so a more advanced chemistry lab could be built to keep up with the advance of technology. It was bricked up and forgotten about until now.
But that brick may have inadvertently saved the historical laboratory. The solid exterior prevented it from being destroyed by a fire in 1895 and shielded it from renovations in the 1970s.
And historians are thrilled it did, as the lab is one of the earliest of its kind left.
"As far as we know and what we've been told, this is the only surviving early 19th century chemical hearth in the United States and possibly the world," historic preservation architect Jody Lahendro told WVIR.
The lab will be available to tour as part of the visitor center when construction on the rotunda is finished in 2016. (Video via University of Virginia)
This video includes images from Getty Images, Rufus W. Holsinger, and Phil Roeder/ CC by 2.0.
