(a) It shall be deemed an act of trespass and a Class A misdemeanor for any person, natural or corporate, to excavate and remove artifacts from the private land of any owner without first obtaining the owner’s express permission.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class A misdemeanorup to 11 monthsup to $2,500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 11-6-109

  • Artifacts: means all relics, specimens or objects of an historical, prehistorical, archaeological or anthropological nature which may be found above or below the surface of the earth, and which have scientific or historic value as objects of antiquity, as aboriginal relics, or as archaeological specimens. See Tennessee Code 11-6-102
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Site: means any location of historic or prehistoric human activity such as, but not restricted to, mounds, forts, earthworks, burial grounds, structures, villages, mines, caves, shipwrecks, and all locations which are or may be sources of paleontological remains. See Tennessee Code 11-6-102
(b) No person, corporation, partnership, association or any other entity shall excavate, damage, vandalize or remove any artifact from or otherwise alter or deface any site listed in the Tennessee register of archaeological sites without first obtaining landowner permission.
(c) No person, corporation, partnership, association or any other entity shall sell, offer to sell, purchase or offer to purchase, or otherwise exchange any artifact from a site listed in the Tennessee register of archaeological sites if the artifact has been removed or received in violation of this section.
(d) No person, corporation, partnership, association or any other entity shall store, dump, litter or otherwise dispose of any garbage, dead animal, sewage or toxic substance in any cave or sinkhole listed in the Tennessee register of archaeological sites.
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