SS Tennessee: A Near-shore Shipwreck from the California Gold Rush

The author’s first maritime archaeological project, commenced in 1980, was a multi-year assessment of a near-shore shipwreck, SS Tennessee (1853) in a newly established unit of the National Park System. Reassessing a first maritime archaeological project is a valuable exercise for any archaeologist working in the field. It offers fresh insights as assumptions and conclusions made at the time are challenged and reinterpreted in the face of new theoretical perspectives, and new data. It also provides an ability to take a fresh look at early career approaches and decisions. This article summarizes and reinterprets the archaeology and contexts of the wreck of SS Tennessee.