Excavating
the Gold Rush Ships In September 2001, Archeo-Tec, an archaeological consulting firm, uncovered the hulk of the General Harrison in San Francisco’s financial district.
ARCHEO-TEC PHOTOS
For mapping purposes, the archaeologists constructed a 5-by-5-foot grid above the exposed portion of the 19th-century vessel.
San Francisco was built around a huge fleet of ships that invaded its harbor 150 years ago. Many of them are known to be resting under the city. Several of these ships have been unearthed, reminding us of this remarkable time. american archaeology
By Leora Broydo Vestel
A
rchaeologist Allen Pastron was not a bit surprised when a gold rush–era ship was discovered in the heart of San Francisco’s financial district. It was buried beneath his favorite Chinese restaurant, Yank Sing, where he’d eaten hundreds of times. Often, while digging into a plate of dim sum, he’d dream of unearthing the historic vessel entombed beneath his feet. “I’ve always known it was there,” Pastron says.“Every time I went there I’d think, here’s my next job.” Eventually, it was. Last September, Yank Sing was
33
