On a street in the centre of Triabunna, on Tasmania's east coast, researchers are beginning to uncover the history of a 19th century military barracks.

The Triabunna Barracks recently came under new ownership, and the owners are looking to develop the well-known site into an accommodation venture.

It is the first time the site has been developed, giving archaeologists a chance to move in and dig for remnants of the past.

Triabunna is the access point to Maria Island, which was once a penal colony and is included in the Port Arthur World Heritage site.

The Triabunna Barracks housed the 51st Regiment of Foot between 1844 and 1851.

A team of researchers from the Australian National University, will conduct a three-week dig, the first ever excavation of the site.

Archaeologist Dr Ash Lenton is one of the lead researchers.

"We believe that the army was coming here from around about 1838, so this complex would have been building up from about that time," he said.

"So probably the earliest building [was] from about 1830, then into the 1840s, they were certainly building here in the 1850s and there was a post office and a bakery here in the early 20th Century.

"So this site was actually alive and kicking for around about 100 years."

Large parts of the site were bulldozed last century.

"It sounds terrible but it's great for us because a large amount of it is still in the ground," Dr Lenton said.

For many of the undergraduate students working on the dig, it is a rare chance to learn in the field.

It is the first time second-year student Abby Hodges has been on site.

"It's really hard to get experience in Australia for digs so I thought, why not, I'll go to the meeting and then I got really excited about it because there's some great history in this town," she said.

It is the first excavation of the Triabunna barracks and it is hoped it will uncover fresh insight into the state's convict past. ( ABC News: Emilie Gramenz )

Undergraduate student Glenn van der Kolk was excited by the opportunity to work on an untouched site.

"They don't come up very often. So to actually get your hands dirty and put in effect what you've learnt back in the classroom is really important work for us," he said.

"Personally what I'd like to find is an interrelationship between the modern, or the past European history but also any Indigenous type aspects on the site.

"That would be really exciting for me."

A major part of the excavation will focus on the back of the property, where researchers believe the foundations of a long building lie.

They suspect that building was the main barracks.

Due to the site's beginnings as a pub, the team is also hoping to uncover parts of beer bottles, that may be dated.

"We know there was a pub here, it was the publican who applied to the British Army to house the soldiers," Dr Lenton said.

"He saw a moneymaking scheme."

Researchers will also guide the public on tours through the site while the dig is underway.