Archaeological digs are usually associated with remote corners of the world, but the construction of the new LDS temple in Provo is providing BYU students with on-the-job experience in their own backyard.

When the Provo Tabernacle was built, it was constructed south of Provo’s first tabernacle or so-called Old Meetinghouse. According to historical accounts, the building was opened in 1861, but not dedicated until 1867 when the exterior plaster was completed. These two houses of worship existed side by side for nearly 40 years before the northern tabernacle was bulldozed in 1919.

Almost 100 years later, as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prepares to build a temple after a fire devastated the Tabernacle in December 2010, and now there is a unique opportunity to remember and care for some of the Church’s cultural heritage.

The BYU Department of Geology and the Office of Public Archaeology (OPA), under the direction of the Church, worked together to map out the foundation of the first tabernacle and excavate a small portion of its substructure.

Richard Talbot, director of  OPA, expressed his enthusiasm at the uniqueness of this project.

“OPA exists to give archeology students real world training, and often we have to go quite a distance to do that,” Talbot said. “We will be mentoring students right here.”

The Church has a great appreciation for its heritage and this is no exception. The Church History Department, along with students, has recorded what they have found in a report yet to be released. They will continue to record historical findings as the project continues.

“When you think about it, the tabernacle was probably a center for early Provo life,” Talbot said. “We have two historic sites side by side.”

Professor John McBride from the Department of Geology, with the help of student volunteers, did the initial mapping of the first tabernacle’s foundation using ground-penetrating radar, or GPR.

“GPR can penetrate a certain amount of solid material,” McBride said. “We can build up kind of an image of the subsurface.”

McBride also said this is perhaps the first project that uses GPR to identify historical buildings in the Provo area.

Sara Stauffer, a graduate student with an emphasis in Great Basin archeology, considers working on the excavation a special opportunity.

“It is neat to have the opportunity to work at the temple site,” Stauffer said. “It has a very unique feeling to it.”

Few people are aware there was another tabernacle in Provo right next to the damaged one.

“For years people have been having activities on the grass without knowing they were partying on a historic building,” Stauffer said.

During the excavation of the first tabernacle, OPA is hoping to answer questions about the architectural style used during the time period, the construction techniques and the use of the basement, whether for classrooms, a kitchen or possibly a baptismal font.