Following a student-run excavation behind Wadsworth House earlier this year, anthropologists say the new discovery is an important piece in the puzzle of Harvard's early history.

"What's really neat about it is that there's been a lot of different little digs in Harvard Yard telling us about student life, but we never really found anything having to do with academics," Mandryk said.

But the remarkable find has brought with it some logistical problems. The renovations of the chapel basement--which will create a classroom and modify rehearsal space for choral groups, among other things--have been stalled since the discovery. And there's no telling when workers will be able to start again.

"I think it could be at least another two weeks," said Michael N. Lichten, director of the office of physical resources in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

"It depends on how long we have to wait and how long it takes them to work through the site and recover everything that was found," he said.

Associate Dean of Harvard College for Extracurricular Activities David P. Illingworth '71 said he does not expect the renovations to be finished for at least six weeks into the new term.

The renovations were originally planned to be complete by the time students return in the fall, Lichten said, but with the timetable pushed up possibly more than a month, singing groups may be scrambling for rehearsal and audition space at the beginning of the year.