HANNIBAL - A team of archaeologists has begun a two-week dig at the Becky Thatcher house in downtown Hannibal.
It's part of a $1.3 million upgrade of the home that's funded by the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum through a federal grant and donations.
Team leader Meredith Hawkins said the dig that started Monday will help to paint a better picture of how a middle class Midwest family lived in the 19th century.
The house was built in the 1800s and once was the residence of Laura Hawkins, who was the model Twain used for the Thatcher character in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."
Meanwhile, work continues to restore the house. By 2010, the 100th anniversary of Twain's death, the museum hopes to have the Thatcher house and other nearby structures fully renovated.