Sunken Gold: How a graduate archaeology assignment turned into the discovery of a maritime lawsuit, a 160 year-old shipwreck, and family treasure.

Christine Lambert is a graduate student at California State University, San Bernardino in the Applied Archaeology MA program. She was tasked with researching a law, regulation, or guideline pertaining to cultural resources and archaeology, and chose the Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987. This topic led her to the case study of California vs Deep Sea Research, Inc., a 1998 lawsuit deciding who had salvage rights to the vessel and cargo of a steamship that sank off the coast of California in 1865. What she found next was a surprising connection to her grandfather and the hunt for lost gold. This month will mark the 160th anniversary of the shipwreck. Join SDCAS and take a dive into the Abandoned Shipwreck Act in California aboard the S.S. Brother Jonathan.