The observatory was built in 1881, but was demolished in the 1920s and was buried under ground over the course of the last century,“It gives us a sense of what early campus looked like in the late 19th century,” MSU campus archaeologist and anthropology doctoral student Ben Akey.
Akey will continue to collaborate with the university’s Infrastructure Planning and Facilities department to keep up with campus construction projects and research any discoveries that are found. Students will also work to preserve any artifacts that the site might hold and coordinate with IPF to ensure anything detected during construction is properly researched and preserved.
Using the MSU archives, Akey conducted most of the research that confirmed the discovery of the building’s former foundation. The book “