A University architect discovered an ancient chemistry lab inside of the Rotunda Monday morning.
The discovery dates back to University founder Thomas Jefferson’s time at the University.
The lab, hidden behind a lower level wall, consists of a brick hearth complete with a complex venting system as well as multiple controls to manipulate the flow of heat. The lab was part of what was a larger chemistry classroom in the East Oval Room.
Brian Hogg, senior historic preservation planner at the University Office of the Architect, said the significance of the lab lies in reflecting upon the early teachings at the University and the importance of the Rotunda as a multi-faceted teaching space, in addition to its original function as the University library.
“It adds another aspect to our understanding of the importance of the Rotunda,” Hogg said in an email statement. “We always focused on the presence and symbolic importance of the library; this illustrates the building's other essential functions.”
Although the University was aware of the lab’s existence based on records of correspondence between Jefferson and John Emmet — the University’s first professor of natural history — the hidden lab the University assumed it had been destroyed in the historic fire which ravaged the the Rotunda’s original structure in 1895.
“There was correspondence between Emmet, [Arthur S.] Brockenbrough, the University's first Rector, and Jefferson about building it but there are few details in those letters,” Hogg said. “Part of [the lab] was found in the 1970s and mistaken as the whole.”
According to Hogg, the rediscovered lab will be open for public observance in the East Oval Room, which serves as the building’s visitor center.
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