Jefferson-Era Chemistry Lab Discovered At UVA
Chemical Hearth Dan Addison The chemistry workstation discovered in the University of Virginia's rotunda. If these walls could talk, they might have something to say about science. During a recent renovation of the Rotunda, one of the oldest buildings at the University of Virginia, archeologists came across a piece of the University's early history, a chemical lab constructed in the early 1800's. The brick alcove has been boarded up since at least the 1840's, but in its heyday, students used the primitive workbench to carry out many chemical experiments. There were only five workspaces, but, like modern chemical labs, there were also heat sources (one with a wood fire and one with a coal fire) as well as ventilation to carry away fumes. “This may be the oldest...