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Learn how archaeological excavations at Petersburg's Golden Ball Tavern help us understand challenges of feeding a fledgling nation. Constructed circa 1764 by prosperous tobacco merchant Richard Hanson, the tavern was originally built as a dwelling, then used as a tavern after Hanson, a fervent Loyalist, fled Virginia in 1776. In 2008, Dr. Chris Stevenson from Virginia's Department of Historic Resources led excavations at the tavern site, identifying intact 18th-century deposits. Dr. Elizabeth Moore, Virginia's State Archaeologist, will discuss how interpreting his findings alongside letters from the period can teach us about the Revolutionary era.