(a) The state of Tennessee reserves to itself the exclusive right and privilege of field archaeology on sites owned or controlled by the state, its agencies, departments, institutions and commissions in order to protect and preserve archaeological and scientific information, matter and artifacts.

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class E felony1 to 6 yearsup to $3,000
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 11-6-105

  • 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.
  • Excavation: means digging below the surface of the earth or water by hand or with mechanical equipment for the purpose of recovering artifacts, archaeological data, human remains or burial objects. See Tennessee Code 11-6-102
  • Field archaeology: means the study of the traces of human culture at any land or water site by means of photographing, mapping, surveying, digging, sampling, excavating and removing artifacts or other archaeological material, or going on a site with that intent. See Tennessee Code 11-6-102
  • Lands: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. 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
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) All such information and artifacts recovered from state lands shall be utilized solely for scientific or public educational purposes and shall remain the property of the state, unless the state archaeologist and the advisory council shall conclude that some artifacts do not merit retention.
(c) No person or organization, including any other agents or agencies of the state of Tennessee, unless acting as a duly authorized agent of the division of archaeology, shall excavate upon any site situated on lands owned or controlled by the state or any agency thereof.
(d) Permits and contracts for archaeological exploration or excavation may be granted by the state archaeologist through the division for such periods of time and under such terms and conditions as the state archaeologist may from time to time determine.
(e) All artifacts, photographs and records obtained by such agents shall remain the property of the state, subject to the decision of the state archaeologist and the advisory council, and shall be maintained in agreed upon public repositories.
(f) Any person, corporation, society or organization conducting such explorations or excavations upon lands owned or controlled by the state or any agency thereof without having first obtained permit from the state archaeologist commits a Class A misdemeanor, except that any violation occurring on a site listed in the Tennessee register of archaeological sites where the commercial or archaeological value of the artifact involved and the cost of restoration or repair of such archaeological site or artifact exceeds the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000) is a Class E felony.
(g) Any and all artifacts and material excavated by such person or organization shall be forfeited to the state and shall be delivered forthwith to the division.
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